Elderly woman behind Ecce Homo ‘restoration’ wants compensation

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Published time: September 21, 2012 10:40
Edited time: September 21, 2012 15:44

The 81-year old amateur artist, who botched the restoration of a 19th century Spanish fresco of Jesus known as ‘Ecce Homo’, says she wants to be paid for her work.

­According to Spanish website elcorreo.com, Celia Gimenez has demanded royalties after her local church decided to charge visitors to see what has become of the ‘Ecce Homo’.

Some ironically remarked that Cecilia’s fresco actually showed the world what Jesus has evolved from… a monkey. Others humourlessly noted the woman behind the amateur restoration needed a visit from the Grand Inquisitor.

The masterpiece by painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been in the Sanctuary of Mercy church in city of Zaragoza for over a century.

When the pensioner’s disastrous restoration became public, it made headlines across the world. Admirers of her ‘daredevil’ work have even launched a Facebook fan page. Hordes of tourists began queuing up to see the famous fresco in the flesh for €4.

"She just wants the church to conform to the law," Enrique Trebolle, the lawyer hired by Gimenez, told The Guardian. "If this means economic compensation she wants it to be for charitable purposes."

The revamped ‘Ecce Homo’ was reportedly discovered after the painter's granddaughter made a donation to the Spanish Centro de Estudios Borjanos in Borja. The employees were shocked when they came to check on the mural to find it horribly altered.

Celia Gimenez (Image from arteesalute.blogosfere.it)