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, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she attempted to repaint a 100-year-old painting known as Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.
Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a furry primate.
The nonagenarian's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "passionate lover of painting from a young age".
"Descansa en paz Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.
Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to repaint the work over".
The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for over a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.
At the time, Giménez, then 81, 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 also noted that anyone who came into the church would have observed she was applying paint to the original artwork.
The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a major tourist destination.
The town, which had previously seen only 5,000 visitors per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise over €50,000 for charity from the interest.
Currently, local authorities estimate that somewhere around 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.
After recovering from the wave of criticism, with support from the townspeople and well-wishers around the world, Giménez went on to stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing 28 of her own paintings.
She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and years of faithful service to the parish.
In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful act of restoration forged an unlikely cultural icon and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.
Elara Vance is a dedicated MapleStory enthusiast and gaming writer, known for creating in-depth guides and staying updated on game mechanics.
