Cecilia Gimenez’s “Monkey Christ” Restoration

The botched restoration nicknamed "Monkey Christ" turned a small fresco of Jesus crowned with thorns into a global curiosity. The original Ecce Homo was painted around 1930 by Spanish artist Elías García Martínez on the wall of the Sanctuary of Mercy in Borja, Spain, before moisture left it badly damaged. In 2012, Cecilia Gimenez attempted to restore it, but the failed result became more culturally valuable than the original and was preserved as it was. The altered fresco now brings tens of thousands of tourists to Borja each year, and Gimenez remained a local celebrity until her death in late 2025.

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