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These priceless artworks survived decades but couldn’t survive tourists.
One of the great joys of travel is having the opportunity to gaze at beautiful paintings and sculptures made by some of the best artists who have ever lived. The problem with this public art–in railway stations, famous institutions, temples, or galleries–is that you can never predict how the public will behave.
Recently, a tourist damaged a portrait of Italian prince Ferdinando de’ Medici, which was painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani in 1712 and hung in the prestigious Uffizi Gallery in Florence. He tore the picture while trying to make a meme of the 300-year-old piece–an act which has forced the gallery to consider imposing greater restrictions on visitors to prevent more damage.
This may sound outrageous to most of us, but it is far from an isolated incident, as artworks have been ruined or broken by selfie-takers all over the world. Some of these pieces take months or years to restore, replace, or rebuild, and they are rare or even priceless to their collections. Despite police being informed of various incidents, museums are surprisingly forgiving, even when multiple exhibits are harmed or broken. Even so, it pays to be careful, as the social media masses are ready to shame those who cause vandalism or accidental damage – as one Chinese schoolboy discovered after drawing on an Egyptian temple. Read on for a list of the most famous artworks damaged or vandalized by tourists.
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The Van Gogh Chair in Palazzo Maffei
WHERE: Italy
Two unknown tourists broke a Swarovski-covered chair created by artist Nicola Bolla when they tried to sit on it while taking selfies. The incident was reported to the police after the pair left the scene without telling anyone at the museum. It was referred to as “every museum’s nightmare” by the institution, but the artist viewed it as a “kind of performance,” as well as being “idiotic.”
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A Bronze Age Pot in the Hecht Museum
WHERE: Israel
A four-year-old accidentally broke a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age pot used to store wine or oil when he knocked it over during a trip with his mother. The ethos of the museum is to have artefacts like this one out in the open, instead of being behind glass or barriers, and the boy’s curiosity got the better of him when he wanted to see what was inside. He was forgiven, as the museum invited him and his family back to reassure him after the incident, describing the repairs as “simple” and using 3D technology to reassemble it.
3 OF 9
A Temple Complex in Luxor
WHERE: Egypt
Not all damage is accidental, as a Chinese teenager wrote “Ding Jihao was here” on Luxor’s temple complex, which was built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III in the 14th century B.C.E. The graffiti went viral, which led to the boy being identified and his parents issuing a public apology on his behalf. The Egyptian authorities said they could restore the “superficial” damage, but Jihao’s school website was hacked and his private life exposed.
4 OF 9
Vases at the Fitzwilliam Museum
WHERE: England
A man smashed three Qing Dynasty vases at the Fitzwilliam Museum after claiming he tripped over his shoelace and fell down the stairs. The police arrested him on suspicion of criminal damage after the ceramics–valued at around $680,000–were smashed into 400 pieces. It took over a year for all three of the 17th-century artefacts to be returned to public display.
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A Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera
WHERE: Italy
The “Drunken Satyr” statue that adorns the corridor of Milan’s Academy of Fine Arts of Brera had its leg broken off after a student mounted it to take a selfie. The person was lucky that it was a copy of the original works, and not one of the much more valuable original sculptures located in another room.
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Twenty-Nine Artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland
WHERE: Scotland
The National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh welcomes around two million visitors per year, but not all of these people can be trusted. From 2000 to 2015, restoration staff have been forced to repair 29 damaged pieces by artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Damien Hirst.
Some are accidental, like a film crew who knocked over a marble bust and a bronze sculpture at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, while others are purposeful, like a tourist who signed his own name on a Douglas Gordon piece entitled “List of Names.” The damaged Lichtenstein alone was valued at around $670,000.
7 OF 9
The Dom Sebastiao Statue in Lisbon’s Rossio Train Station
WHERE: Portugal
A man who scaled the Dom Sebastiao statue in the Portuguese capital’s Rossio train station to take a selfie was in for a nasty surprise when it smashed onto the ground. The sculpture was freestanding against the fresco, so it fell to the floor and broke into pieces when he touched it. The man was caught by police after trying to flee the scene. A replica statue was hoisted onto the mount to fill its place while the original 126-year-old work was restored.
8 OF 9
A Painting in Yekaterinburg
WHERE: Russia
Four girls knocked down a temporary wall at the “Caprichos” exhibition in Russia’s Yekaterinburg while attempting a selfie. The museum said they “behaved inadequately” after watching the security footage. As a result of their actions, a Salvador Dali and a Francisco Goya painting had their frames damaged and glass shattered, which particularly affected the Dali picture.
9 OF 9
A Sculpture at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
WHERE: Washington, D.C.
The “Infinity Mirrors” art exhibition by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama lost one of its pumpkins when a tourist knocked it over. He was reportedly taking a selfie, but he was not arrested, and the museum requested a new pumpkin as a replacement. When the “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins” room was reopened, extra staff were drafted in to protect the other brightly-colored vegetables from harm.