A valuable artwork was shattered when a tourist accidentally lost their balance and plonked their full weight down on top of it – and the museum that displays the Van Gogh chair called it a ‘nightmare’
Museum shares CCTV of tourists ‘breaking’ Van Gogh chair
What started out as a quick photo op at a museum quickly turned into a total disaster, when a tourist accidentally shattered a seriously valuable piece of art.
The ‘Van Gogh Chair’ ended up damaged after a tourist seemed to lose their balance while they were trying to snap a picture – and ended up putting their entire weight on the intricately made piece.
Inspired by one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings of a ladderback chair, the piece – created by Italian artist Nicola Bolla – is a chair that has been covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals, making it probably one of the most expensive places out there you can park your bum.
The two tourists visiting the Maffei Palace took the opportunity to snap a couple of photos while alone in the room the chair was housed in – with security guards nowhere to be seen at the time.
First up, the female tourist posed with the chair, perching on top of it, but without putting her weight on top of it. The male tourist she was with clearly wanted his own photo with the glittering chair – but when he tried to copy what his companion had just done, it was a massive failure.
As he attempted to perch, he seemed to lose his balance, and ended up plonking his full weight down on the chair, something the museum called a “nightmare” on social media.
After he had fallen backwards onto the crystal-covered chair, it was pretty much left shattered, and the tourists skedaddled straight out of the museum pretty sharpish. Two legs and the seat itself were completely broken by the incident.
“Every museum’s nightmare has become reality, even in Palazzo Maffei,” the museum said afterward on social media, per Lad Bible. “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.”
Luckily, art restorers managed to return the priceless and delicate artwork back to its former glory, and the Italian police were also reportedly called. Now the “nightmare” is finally over, with the chair shimmering and “shining once again”.
While the piece looks like a solid chair, it was clearly marked that no one visiting the museum should touch it because of its delicate nature. “On the chair was a note warning people not to touch, and of course, it is placed on a pedestal, so it’s quite clear it’s not a real chair,” art historian Carlotta Menegazzo, who works at the museum, told the BBC.
Instead of being a real piece of furniture, the frame is held together with tin foil, and internally it is hollow – so it’s a seriously fragile piece of art.
The pair who posed for pictures and accidentally caused the chaos have reportedly still not been identified, but the museum was disappointed that they didn’t alert staff to what had happened.
The museum director told the BBC: “Of course, it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us – that isn’t an accident”.