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The elderly woman from Spain who made international headlines for her infamous repair job on a cherished Jesus Christ fresco has died at the age of 94.

The woman, from the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting titled Ecce Homo located in her local 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.

Local Confirmation and Homage

The 94-year-old's death was confirmed by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he described her as a "great lover of painting from a young age".

"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," the mayor posted.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's Background and the Now-Infamous Act

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church close to Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to do the work.

She added at the time that anyone who came into the church would have seen she was applying paint to the existing image.

A Surprising Economic Lifeline

The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant visitor attraction.

The town, which had previously seen only five thousand visitors per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the attention.

Today, local authorities estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to see the notorious painting, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.

Later Life and Local Support

After recovering from the initial backlash, backed by local residents and others globally, Giménez went on to stage an art exhibition showcasing twenty-eight of her own works.

She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and decades of faithful service to the parish.

In the end, what began as a sincere but unsuccessful art repair forged an unlikely cultural icon and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.