Spanish Parishioner Who Found Fame for Botching a Famous Painting Restoration Has Died at Age 94
The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous repair job on a valuable religious painting has died at the age 94.
The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she undertook to restore a 100-year-old painting titled Ecce Homo located in her parish church.
Giménez's restoration effort quickly went viral and was dubbed "Monkey Christ", largely due to the altered likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.
Official Confirmation and Homage
The 94-year-old's death was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.
Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to apply new paint over the original".
The Painting's Background and the Fateful Intervention
The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) painted by 19th century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.
At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to proceed.
She added at the time that anyone who came into the church would have seen she was painting over the original image.
An Unexpected Tourist Boom
The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a major visitor attraction.
The town, which had previously seen only 5,000 tourists per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Currently, officials estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to view the famous painting, which is now protected by a pane of glass.
Legacy and Local Admiration
Following the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and others globally, Giménez later stage an art exhibition featuring 28 of her personal works.
She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and years of faithful service to the church.
Ultimately, what began as a sincere but unsuccessful act of restoration forged an unlikely cultural icon and provided unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.
