“Artist” Cecilia Giménez, 94, creator of Monkey Jesus, died on Dec. 29. The church volunteer in Borja, Spain, became (in)famous in 2012 when she “restored” a deteriorating 1930 fresco of Jesus (titled Ecce Homo, painted by Elías García Martínez). The result was a fall-down-laughing funny monkey-like painting, which first brought fury and insults, but which quickly became a beloved tourist attraction. "The priest knew it. I've never tried to do anything hidden,” Giménez defended herself. "I left it to dry and went on holiday for two weeks, thinking I would finish the restoration when I returned. When I came back, everybody in the world had heard about Ecce Homo.” Indeed, internet memes flourished, and there was even an opera, Behold the Man, based on the incident. Giménez herself beamed “The restoration has put Borja on the world map, meaning I've done something for my village that nobody else was able to do. So many people have come here — and to our beautiful church — to see the painting... they tell me more than 130,000 people.”
