The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a religious fresco with her amateur restoration is demanding royalties from her work after it became a tourist attraction.

Cecilia Gimenez, who is in her eighties, made headlines across the world after her DIY restoration left the 19th-century fresco of Christ resembling a monkey.

The 20th century Ecce Homo-style fresco of Christ before (left) and after (right) an elderly amateur artist Cecelia Gimenez, 80, took it upon herself to restore it. It's now a sensation and a tourist drawcard. Credit:Centro de estudios Borjanos

Her alteration of Ecce Homo - Behold the Man - became an internet sensation and sent thousands of curious sightseers to the Santuario de Misericordia church in Borja to see her handiwork.

Authorities threatened to sue Mrs Gimenez for her unauthorised restoration, which she insisted had been carried out with only good intentions because the painting was in need of repair.