Elias Garcia Martinez's 122-year-old Ecce Homo painting is likely to have attracted little attention outside the Spanish town of Borja, if it were not for the “restoration” work done by the then 80-year-old Cecilia Gimenez.
Noticing that the fresco inside of the church was flaking badly due to the moisture in the building, an elderly devotee decided to take it upon herself to “restore” the painting.
Acting without authorization from anyone involved with the church, Gimenez painted over the work with, shall we say, extremely amateur broadstrokes, resulting in the depiction of Christ looking more like an ape. Originally called Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), the painting is now affectionately referred to as Ecce Mono (Behold the Monkey).
The church where the painting resides has since become a tourist attraction and when visits skyrocketed, they began to charge admission to see the botched fresco. At one point, €2000 ($2600) was collected in just four days with the money going to a local charity.
It seems the painter, whose work the world laughed at, has the last laugh. Gimenez recently signed a merchandising contract that will allow her to take in 49 percent of the profits that come from the sale of tote bags and other items that feature the Ecce Mono's likeness.
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