Botched painting restorer seeks royalties

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BORJA, Spain, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The Spanish octogenarian, whose botched restoration of a century-old fresco depicting Jesus became an online sensation, is now seeking royalties for her work.

The Spanish-language El Correo newspaper reported Cecilia Gimenez and her family are seeking royalties from the Santi Spiritus Hospital Foundation, which owns the Santuario de Misericordia Church in Borja and has been charging visitors to see the "restored" version of the "Ecce Mono" fresco.

The foundation made about $2,600 in four days from tourists seeking to catch an in-person glimpse of the painting, which online commentators have said looks more like a monkey than the Jesus it originally depicted, the Ars Technica website reported.

The church has retained lawyers to protect its revenues from Gimenez, El Correo said.