An “irresponsible” tourist has destroyed the priceless crystal-covered “Van Gogh” chair while posing for a picture.
According to New York Times, a tourist in Italy crushed her precious artwork, the “Van Gogh” chair adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals, for a perfect picture.
The security camera video showed a couple visiting Palazzo Maffei, a historical palace in Verona, northern Italy. After the woman accompanying the man lowered herself and pretended to be sitting on the chair for a photo, the man also tried to do the same.
But in his efforts for a more realistic photo, he came closer to the chair and crumbled it under his weight after losing his balance. The man could be seen holding the wall with both of his hands to save himself from falling.
The woman came to rescue him, and the two quickly left the room.
Italian museum slams “disrespectful” actions of the tourists:
The Palazzo Maffei took to social media to slam the tourists for their “irresponsible” actions and shared the footage of the incident.
The museum wrote, “Superficial and disrespectful behaviour has put the integrity of a work of art at risk: the chair ‘Van Gogh’ was damaged by some visitors, who, waiting for the surveillance to leave, chose to take an ‘in effect’ photo, ignoring every rule of respect towards art and the cultural heritage.”
“We’ve decided not to limit ourselves to a simple report of what happened. We want to turn this episode into an occasion to reflect and raise awareness: art must be admired and lived, but above all respected. Always,” it added.
Notably, the “Van Gogh” chair is an art piece by Italian artist Nicola Bolla. The chair is entirely covered in crystals and is one of the most famous pieces of the legendary Dutch painter.
