Death of the improvised restorer of a fresco of Christ which hit the headlines in Spain

The story went around the world in 2012, with a photo on social networks to support it. Having become an unusual star after the completely failed restoration of a portrait of Christ, which caused hilarity and consternation, Cecilia Giménez died at the age of 94. “In August 2012, the famous restoration of Ecce Homo de Borja was shown; due to the poor state of conservation of the work, Cecilia, with the best intention in the world, had decided to repaint the work over it. recalls in a message published on Facebook the foundation which manages the sanctuary of this small town in the north-east of Spain where the painting is still alivesible.

“Cecilia Giménez thus became one of the most famous characters of 2012 and still continues to arouse interest today, not only from people who go to the Sanctuary of Mercy, a place that Cecilia adored, but also from different media,” continues the institution which announced the death of the nonagenarian.

Monkey fur and erased mouth

In 2012, Cecilia Gimenez caused the consternation of heritage protectors and hilarity among Internet users around the world with her very personal work. Hair resembling monkey fur, erased mouth and clumsily stylized nose born under his brush no longer had anything to do with the original, a Behold the Man with fine features wearing a crown of thorns painted by a local artist, Elias Garcia Martinez. The work, produced in the 1910s, was not classified.

Borja then received 57,000 visitors in one year who came to see the painting. All over the world, the unrecognizable face of the new Behold the Man had immediately inspired numerous diverted versions based in particular on photos of the King of Spain Juan Carlos in 2012, Michael Jackson and Homer Simpson, and even masks

See also | In 2016, Cecilia Giménez participated in the opening of a center dedicated to the “restored” work in Spain: