Woman Who Ruined Spanish Fresco Wants Payment

The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a fresco of Jesus after she attempted to restore it is now asking for royalties from a local church displaying the artwork.
Save
Woman Who Ruined Spanish Fresco Wants Payment
A woman takes pictures of the ruined version of the "Ecce Homo" painting at the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, near Zaragoza, Spain, on August 28, 2012. An elderly woman's catastrophic attempt to 'restore' a century-old oil painting of Christ in a Spanish church has provoked popular uproar, and amusement. (Cesar Manso/AFP/GettyImages)
9/20/2012
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img class="size-large wp-image-1781626" title="SPAIN-ART-JESUS-BORJA-SANCTURY OF MERCY-ZARAGOZA" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/150873716.jpg" alt="A woman takes pictures of the deteriorated version of a "Ecce Homo" painting at the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, near Zaragoza, Spain, on August 28, 2012. An elderly woman's catastrophic attempt to 'restore' a century-old oil painting of Christ in a Spanish church has provoked popular uproar, and amusement. (Cesar Manso/AFP/GettyImages) " width="590" height="379"/></a>
A woman takes pictures of the deteriorated version of a

The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a fresco of Jesus after she attempted to restore it is now asking for royalties from a local church displaying the artwork.

Cecilia Gimenez, 81, wants payment after the Sanctuary of Mercy church charged visitors for seeing the 120-year-old painting, the El Correo newspaper reported. Apparently, the church obtained more than 2,000 euros ($2,500) in four days. Around 30,000 people have visited the church in the town of Borja since the incident, the paper said.

Several months ago Gimenez made an attempt to restore the Ecce Homo painting to its original state after it started to peel. The ruined painting has now become an Internet meme of sorts, with more than 10,000 people “liking” the “Cecilia Gimenez Fan Club” on Facebook.

The church has hired a lawyer to fend off a potential suit by Gimenez, according to the NineMSN website.

The mayor of Borja has said the town experienced a boost in tourism revenue via the “influx of pilgrims,” according to the website.