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The elderly woman from Spain who made international headlines for her poorly executed restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has died at the age of 94.

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

Giménez's restoration effort quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", because the resulting likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Official Announcement and Tribute

The 94-year-old's passing was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate lover of painting from a very early age".

"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," the mayor posted.

Arilla further referenced Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to apply new paint over the original".

The Painting's History and the Now-Infamous Act

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

In 2012, Giménez, then 81, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the local priest to do the work.

She added at the time that anyone who entered the Church would have observed she was painting over the original artwork.

A Surprising Economic Lifeline

The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Monkey Christ" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major tourist destination.

The town, which had previously welcomed just 5,000 tourists per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.

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

Legacy and Community Admiration

Following the wave of criticism, with support from local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez went on to hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring twenty-eight of her own works.

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

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