Cecilia Jimenez, the Spanish pensioner who illegally “restored” a fresco by artist Elias García Martinez, has died at the age of 95. About this write SER string.
The cause of death and funeral date have not been announced.
“(Jiménez's) wish came true to die peacefully surrounded by the entire Borja community. This is a great loss for the city – she loved the people so much, they reciprocated her feelings,” said Borja Mayor Eduardo Arilla.
In 2012, a woman decided to color a fresco in the Santuario de Misericordia temple in the city of Borja near Zaragoza. She hopelessly damaged the fresco, which has since become known as Hairy Jesus, Monkey Christ, or Potato Christ.
At the same time, Jimenez became famous around the world and the temple became a tourist attraction. Ryanair has organized special flights to Zaragoza airport. Tourists began coming to town to see her “work.”
The Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones notes that a devout pensioner could make a career in the comic book genre.
In his opinion, her actions can only be compared with the restoration of the portrait of James Whistler's mother, carried out by Mr. Famous Bean, who literally sneezed on the painting and then arranged it in a horrifying manner.
You also need to have an aptitude for comic destruction, says the expert, and by using it wisely, you can now build an entire strategy for popularizing the art.
