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

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting known as Ecce Homo located in her local church.

Giménez's handiwork quickly went viral and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Official Announcement and Homage

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

"Descansa en paz Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," the mayor posted.

Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to repaint the work over".

The Artwork's History and the Now-Infamous Intervention

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

At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, 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 also noted that anyone who came into the Church would have observed she was applying paint to the original artwork.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the restoration spawned the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a significant tourist destination.

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

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

Later Life and Local Admiration

Following the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others around the world, Giménez went on to stage an art exhibition showcasing 28 of her personal paintings.

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

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful art repair created an improbable cultural icon and provided remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.