The Spanish woman who unintentionally botched a fresco of Jesus Christ which was later turned into a well-known meme, has died at the age of 94.
Cecilia Giménez of Borja, Spain, became famous in 2012 after she noticed the painting was fading, the BBC reported Monday, noting the artwork had been inside the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for over 100 years.
Prior to getting to work on the painting, Giménez asked the priest for permission, but the restoration work resulted in the painting being turned into something entirely different after Giménez, who was also an amateur artist, began layering it with blocks of color, per Artnet.
The outlet said:
Giménez intended to apply finesse to the Savior’s face, but was called away from town before she could finish the job. In the interim, the town’s cultural association uncovered her handiwork. Horrified, it posted before-and-after photographs of the painting to its blog under the headline “An Unspeakable Fact.”
The images of the botched, bulbous Jesus went viral. Within days, they had spread from Reddit to 4Chan to Facebook and Twitter, and finally hit mainstream media.
Euro News reported that Giménez was able to open an exhibition of her own paintings and made Borja’s Ecce Homo famous while also becoming a pop phenomenon.
Following her death, the town’s mayor posted on Facebook, “Her infinite generosity is reflected in what we have been able to do thanks to all that Ecce Homo has brought. Rest in peace, Cecilia, we will always remember you.”
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