A man posing in front of a museum’s priceless Medici painting stumbled and ripped the masterpiece in front of stunned onlookers.
CCTV video footage from Italy’s Uffizi Gallery in Florence on June 21 showed the unnamed tourist walking up to the 1712 Baroque painting, ‘Portrait of Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany’.
The piece was painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani at the height of his career as a Medici family court artist.
The tourist attempted to re-enact the pose of the prince in the picture before losing his balance and falling back onto the canvas.
After tearing the masterpiece, he stood back up and put his hands behind his back as if to pretend he was just studying the portrait.
Photos of the damage show a fist-sized hole in the canvas, now withdrawn from public view and undergoing painstaking repairs.
Museum officials reported the visitor to the police, who are said to be investigating the incident.
Uffizi director Simone Verde later said: ‘Today, a tourist wanting to make a meme in front of a painting, stepping back in a pose like the portrayed Prince of Medici, hits the surface of the work.
‘The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant.
‘We will set very precise limits, preventing behaviours that are not compatible with the purpose of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage.’
The debacle comes days after a museum urged visitors to ‘respect art’ after a tourist sat on a famous crystal chair and shattered it.
The so-called ‘Van Gogh’ chair, named after the legendary Dutch artist, was housed at Palazzo Maffei, an art gallery in Verona, northern Italy.
Footage captured a couple posing for pictures around the chair after waiting for the security guard to leave.
The woman pretends to sit down before the man places his weight on the seat, which promptly cracks.
The chair, designed by Italian artist Nicola Bolla, was studded with Swarovski crystals.
Palazzo Maffei shared the CCTV footage on Facebook, describing the described the act as an ‘irresponsible gesture’.
The museum said that, despite uncertainty over whether the fragile chair could be restored, they had managed to repair it.
It said: ‘Every museum’s nightmare has become reality, even in Palazzo Maffei. Waiting for the surveillance officers to come out, some visitors took an “in effect” photo.
‘The result? An irresponsible gesture caused serious damage to Nicola Bolla’s “Van Gogh” chair, a very delicate work, covered entirely with hundreds of Swarovski crystals.’
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