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The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has died at the age 94.

The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she undertook to restore a 100-year-old fresco titled Ecce Homo located in her local church.

Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", because the resulting likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Official Confirmation and Homage

The 94-year-old's death was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a very early age".

"Descansa en paz 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 "because of the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's History and the Fateful Act

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

At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, stated that parishioners had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to proceed.

She also noted that anybody who entered the church would have seen she was painting over the original image.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and transformed the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major tourist destination.

The municipality, which had in the past seen only 5,000 visitors per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the attention.

Currently, officials say that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to view the notorious painting, which is now protected by a pane of glass.

Legacy and Local Support

After recovering from the initial backlash, backed by local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez later hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her personal paintings.

She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of dedication to the church.

Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair created an unlikely cultural icon and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.