An elderly woman who botched the restoration of a famous 19th century fresco is seeking royalties after tourists starting flocking to see the destroyed painting in a Spanish church.

Pensioner Cecilia Gimenez, 81, claimed she had permission to fix the 120-year-old painting of Jesus Christ by Elias Garcia Martinez when she covered it with a thick layer of paint last month.

The restored artwork made worldwide headlines and photos of it quickly went viral online, with a BBC correspondent likening it to "a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey wearing a tunic".

It was not long before scores of tourists starting visiting the church in Borja to see the restoration, jokingly dubbed "Behold the Monkey".

The sanctuary's owners, the Santi Spiritus Hospital Foundation, made $2500 in just four days after they decided to start charging visitors a fee because they were not leaving donations, according to Spanish newspaper El Correo.

But Ms Giminez and her family believe she deserves a cut of the profit and they are seeking lawyers to win royalties.

The church has reportedly retained its own lawyers to fight the pensioner.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Borja said the town was enjoying a boost in tourism dollars from the "influx of pilgrims".

Budget airline Ryanair is even selling cut price tickets for those who want to visit the "creative restoration".

Source:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8536045/woman-who-destroyed-fresco-wants-to-sue