Cecilia Gimenez, the woman who ‘restored’ the Jesus fresco, is now suing her church
The Ecce Homo painting before and after seen here.
Even though she destroyed her church's 19th century Spanish fresco of Jesus last month, it was hard not to feel sorry for Cecilia Gimenez, who is 81 and was just trying to help. Her work was ridiculed across the globe, with people saying that her depiction of Jesus more closely resembles a monkey or a bear (one Guardian reader calls it "Paranoid Bear Jesus"). But Gimenez has moved on from her embarrassment, and now she is ready to sue.
The botched painting became so popular with tourists that her church began charging people an entrance fee, the Daily Telegraph reported. After hearing about this, Gimenez hired lawyers who now insist that she deserves a cut of the church's profits. "She just wants the church to conform to the law," lawyer Enrique Trebolle told the Telegraph. "If this means economic compensation she wants it to be for charitable purposes."
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In response, her church has also retained lawyers, the Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Borja happily says that the painting is bringing an "influx of pilgrims" and hence tourism dollars into the church's town, Ninemsn reported. So if Gimenez's lawsuit against her church doesn't work out, she can always try her suing her town.