THE woman responsible for “Monkey Jesus” – the butchered restoration of an historic Jesus fresco – has died.
Cecilia Giménez, from Borja, Spain, made headlines in 2012 when she painted over a century-old antiquity at her local church in a good-natured effort to restore it.
The original version of the painting Ecce Homo on the (left), the deteriorated version (centre), and the restored version by Cecilia Gimenez (right)Credit: AFP
Cecilia Gimenez passed away aged 94Credit: Photoshot
The flaking fresco had deteriorated after many years of water damage and Giménez took it upon herself to freshen it up.
Unfortunately, her restoration attempt made Jesus look like a “hairy-monkey” and made the world have a good giggle at the before and after.
Giménez’s passing at the age of 94 was announced by Borja’s mayor, Eduardo Arilla.
She was a “great lover of painting from a young age”, the mayor said.
“In August 2012, she was worldwide news as the protagonist of ‘Eccehomo de Borja’.”
“The world knew her through this nice anecdote, but all of us already knew the great person she was.”
The Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza had held The Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man” in Latin) fresco by 19th century painter Elias Garcia Martinez for more than 100 years before Giménez gave a go touching it up.
Giménez didn’t know that a donation from the original painter’s granddaughter had been given to a local preservation centre to restore the original.
Although she had the “best intentions”, cultural officials ruled the painting could never be properly restored due to her amateur attempt.
The fresco is not thought to be very valuable, but has a high sentimental value for local people.
After the botched restoration went viral online, she told the media that parishioners had always repaired everything in the church themselves, and that she had the priest’s permission to do so.
The meme of “Monkey Jesus” actually became a blessing for the small town, which saw tourist numbers increase eight-fold in the following year.
In 2013, visitors helped raise €50,000 for charity.
Giménez even went on to hold her own art exhibition with 28 of her own original pieces.
Today, the ridiculed restoration still draws crowds, with about 15,000-20,000 people per year popping in to take a look at Giménez’s work.
Her dedication to the church was praised by Mayor Arilla.
He remembered Giménez as a “strong woman and a selfless, deeply fighting mother” who faced hard challenges throughout her life, showing “sacrifice, courage and steadfastness”.
A woman takes pictures of the of Ecce Homo after its restoration by Cecilia GimenezCredit: AFP
People pose for pictures with the botched restorationCredit: AFP
It wasn’t the only botched restoration to be ridiculed in Spain.
Six years after “Monkey Jesus”, .
The statue of San Jorge (Saint George) shows the armoured saint riding a horse as he fights the dragon but it was too dull for the local priest, who according to reports decided to ask a schoolteacher if she could take the time to restore it.
The woman, named in local media simply as Carmen who reportedly teaches arts and crafts at a local school, was happy to help out and the result was unveiled to the horror of locals this week.
Unfortunately the arts and crafts teacher missed the mark and ruined the 500-year-old statue.
Fury was sparked in a Spanish town after an amateur artist botched a restoration of a statue of St GeorgeCredit: Central European News
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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