Two visitors to the Maffei Palace in Verona waited for the security staff to leave the room they were in to take a picture of themselves, heavily damaging a work of art: it is the “Van Gogh” chair by artist Nicola Bolla, which is extremely fragile and delicate as it is entirely covered in Swarovski. But evidently the man who sat on it to have his picture taken by the woman who was with him did not think at all about the consequences of that irresponsible gesture.
In the video that the museum posted on its social media, the entire scene is clearly seen: completely alone in the room, first the woman stood in front of the precious chair, but without leaning on it, to have a souvenir photo taken by the man, then it was the man’s turn, who instead, did not just lower himself further and further toward the seat, but actually sat down. The chair broke, he collapsed on it, trying to hold on to the walls with both hands so as not to fall off completely, and then, as if nothing had happened, the two quickly fled the room.
“Every museum’s nightmare has come true, even at Palazzo Maffei,” reads the post published by the museum on social media with the video of the incident. “Waiting for the guards to leave, some visitors took a ’knockout’ photo. The result? An irresponsible gesture caused serious damage to Nicola Bolla’s ”Van Gogh“ chair, a delicate work entirely covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals. For days we did not know whether it would be possible to restore it. But we did it.” The event took place in the past few weeks, and the work, already restored, is back on display. However, the museum decided to make the episode public by sharing the video.
“We share this episode,” the post continues, “not only out of duty of record, but to start a real campaign to raise awareness of the value of art and the respect it is due. Our heartfelt thanks go to law enforcement, our security department and the restorers, whose invaluable work enabled the recovery of the work. And a special thanks to all of you who walk through the halls of the museum every day with care, attention and wonder. Because art is not just to be seen. It is to be loved. It is to be protected.”
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| Verona, at Maffei Palace visitor sits on artwork for photo, destroys it and escapes |
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