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The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her poorly executed restoration attempt on a cherished religious painting has passed away at the age of 94.

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting titled Ecce Homo located in her local church.

Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", because the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Local Confirmation and Homage

The 94-year-old'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 young age".

"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's Background and the Now-Infamous Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that church members had "always repaired everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to proceed.

She added at the time that anyone who came into the church would have seen she was painting over the original artwork.

A Surprising Tourist Boom

The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant tourist destination.

The municipality, which had previously seen only 5,000 tourists per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, officials say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to view the notorious painting, which is now displayed behind a protective shield of glass.

Later Life and Community Support

After recovering from the wave of criticism, backed by local residents and others around the world, Giménez later hold an art exhibition featuring 28 of her personal paintings.

She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and years of dedication to the parish.

Ultimately, what began as a sincere but flawed art repair created an improbable piece of pop culture and provided unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.