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The elderly woman from Spain who achieved global fame for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable Jesus Christ fresco has passed away at the age 94.

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

Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and was dubbed "Monkey Christ", because the resulting likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Local Announcement and Tribute

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

"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Painting's History and the Now-Infamous Act

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church close to Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, then 81, stated that parishioners had "always repaired everything here", and that she had received permission from the parish priest to proceed.

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

A Surprising Economic Lifeline

The aftermath of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" internet phenomenon and transformed the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

The town, which had in the past welcomed just five thousand tourists per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the attention.

Today, officials estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja each year to see the famous portrait, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.

Later Life and Local Admiration

After recovering from the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and well-wishers globally, Giménez later hold an art exhibition featuring 28 of her personal works.

She was commended by the mayor for her generosity and years of dedication to the church.

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful act of restoration forged an unlikely cultural icon and brought unprecedented attention and resources to a small Spanish town.