(NewsNation) — Spanish artist Cecilia Giménez, best known for her 2012 botched restoration of a 19th-century fresco of Jesus, which went viral in 2012 for its odd and off-putting recreation of Jesus’ face, has died at 94.
Giménez rose to notoriety after after an attempt to restore the obscure fresco painted by Elías García Martínez, called “Ecce Homo,” went awry, with many dubbing the photo “Monkey Christ” or “Potato Jesus,” Boston University’s SEQUITUR art and history journal previously reported. The fresco had lived on a wall inside the Santuario de Misericordia church, located in Borja, since the 1930s. In that time, the fresco had suffered significant water damage, prompting the amateur Giménez to have a go at bringing it back to life.
“Ecce Homo” did indeed get a second life — just not the way either Giménez would have hoped.
The restoration initially rose to attention because there was some confusion over whether or not Giménez had gotten approval to restore the locally beloved fresco. Borja authorities suspected Giménez’s work to be an act of vandalism, causing the incident to get local and regional attention first, before the image gained further attention for its unfinished features, The New York Times reported.
Though it’s still unclear whether she actually had permission to do this (the then-priest denied she did), no charges were ultimately filed.
Upon hitting TV news and social media, images of the fresco instantly became an early viral meme, particularly on Twitter, Reddit and Tumblr, where users often imposed the restored “Ecco Homo” visage onto other works of art.
Though Giménez was initially, rightfully, upset about the large-scale mockery of her work, she ultimately came to embrace its existence and the massive influx of tourism it would eventually attract to the micro town of Borja. Demand for travel to the hamlet was so high, Ryanair even started flights to Zaragoza, the nearest airport to the church.
NYT reported that over 150,000 visitors from across the globe had travelled to see “Ecco Homo” (Monkey Version) by 2014. Local shops, restaurants and wineries saw a steady influx of business.
Sanctuario de Misericordia also received tons of visitors, so many that it eventually began charging an admission fee of about $1.18 and collecting around $2,300 just over four days, CBC reported in 2012. That’s in addition to various pieces of merchandise featuring the image that began to be sold. This led Giménez to sue for royalties, which she intended to go toward muscular atrophy charities, which had affected her son, BBC reports. Ultimately, a court ruling gave Giménez 49% copyright ownership of the image.
The incident also benefitted Giménez, who would go on to sell her own artwork and even tour with them, says BBC.
Borja mayor Eduardo Arilla paid tribute to Giménez following her death, noting that the artist had been widowed as a young mother of two children with disabilities, according to the Guardian. Arilla praised her for all the good that came to the city because of her restoration. Per the Guardian, Santuario de Misericordia also said in a statement, “Cecilia was a devoted mother and a fighter, a strong woman, but above all we should talk about her generosity which has won her the whole world’s affection.”