Cecilia Giménez, a Spaniard known for her botched fresco restorations, dies at 94

Cecilia Giménez, the Spaniard whose botched restoration of a century-old painting of Jesus Christ makes headlines around the world more than ten years ago, died. She was 94 years old.

Authorities in Borja, northeastern Spain, confirmed Giménez’s death on Facebook. Mayor Eduardo Arilla told local newspaper she died in a nursing home, The New York Times reported.

The foundation that manages the church of Borja where the “Ecce Homo” fresco is exhibited said she was a great lover of painting from a very young age. The foundation called her “one of the most famous figures of 2012” and noted that she had, “with the best intentions, decided to repaint” the fresco in the Sanctuary of Mercy church due to its poor condition.

Giménez’s attempt left Christ’s face caricatured and unrecognizable, sparking a flood of online reactions, memes and parodies featuring famous figures such as Michael Jackson and Homer Simpson.

Its restoration added what appeared to be a mane to the figure of Christ, leading the small painting by local artist Elias Garcia Martinez, created in the 1910s, to be nicknamed the “Monkey Christ.”

At the time, Giménez acknowledged the damage, but she told a state television station that the parish priest had authorized the restoration.

“The priest knew it! He knew it! How could we do such a thing without permission? He knew it,” Giménez said. “Everyone who entered the church could see me while I painted. I didn’t do anything in secret.”

The controversy quickly turned Borja into a tourist destinationwith around 57,000 visitors coming to see the hitherto little-known church the following year.

When the controversy died down, his supporters helped Giménez organize an art exhibition featuring 28 of his own paintings, CBS News partner BBC News said. reported.