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The elderly woman from Spain who made international headlines for her poorly executed repair job on a valuable religious painting has died at the age 94.

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she attempted to repaint a 100-year-old fresco known as Ecce Homo located in her local church.

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

Local Announcement and Tribute

The nonagenarian's death was confirmed by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a very early age".

"Rest in peace 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 deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's History and the Now-Infamous Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than 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 parish priest to do the work.

She added at the time that anyone who entered the Church would have seen she was painting over the existing artwork.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The impact of the restoration led to the creation of the "Ecce Mono" internet phenomenon and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

The town, which had in the past welcomed just 5,000 tourists per year, attracted more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, local authorities say that between 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.

Later Life and Community Support

Following the initial backlash, backed by local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez went on to stage an art exhibition showcasing twenty-eight of her personal paintings.

She was commended by the mayor for her generosity and decades of faithful service to the church.

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed act of restoration created an unlikely cultural icon and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.