Two tourists visiting a museum in Italy were caught on a security camera sitting on a crystal-covered art exhibit—and breaking it.
The “delicate” chair, covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals on display in Verona’s Pallazzo Maffei, was positioned under a CCTV camera and collapsed when one of the visitors sat on it for a photo.
The incident sent the museum into crisis mode, prompting intervention from law enforcement.
No information on the identities of individuals responsible for the damage has been shared, but the internet is sure of their nationality.
The Museum says that the culprits made it less of an accident by not owning up
Image credits: Vincent van Gogh
In a post on Instagram, the Museum called on its patrons to “respect its art,” after lashing out at the perpetrators, saying that “sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don’t think about the consequences.”
Although the museum only went public with the incident on June 12, some believe the chair was broken in April.
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
The organization’s director, Vanessa Carlon, indicated that the individuals made their infraction worse by not owning up to their blunder.
She said: “Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us – that isn’t an accident.”
The museum went into crisis mode, thinking they would not be able to repair it
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
The museum posted a video of the incident to its Instagram account and captioned it with a rebuke.
The accompanying note explained that the culprits waited for security personnel to leave the room before perpetrating what the organization is now calling vandalism.
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
The chair, designed by Italian artist Nicola Bolla and named after the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, was noted for being delicate.
“The result?” the post’s caption reads, “an irresponsible gesture [that] caused serious damage.”
Carlon goes on to say that she was worried that restoring the chair would not be possible.
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
“We are sharing this episode not only for the sake of reporting, but to start a real campaign to raise awareness about the value of art and the respect it deserves,” the message concluded.
The culprits made a hasty exit when they realized what they had done
The Instagram video shows the culprits, a man and a woman, with their cameras posing around the chair while they take photos of each other. The woman goes first, but only leans over the artwork while her male companion snaps away.
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
When it was the man’s turn, he took it a step further and actually sat on the chair, causing its back legs to slide off the supporting pedestal, while the front two buckled.
The woman rushes forward to help her partner to his feet again before the two made a hasty exit from the otherwise empty room.
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No mention was made of the culprits being identified. Be this as it may, social media has ideas about their country of origin.
Some netizens blame the museum, others think the behaviour is typical of a certain demographic
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One comment: “This is exactly why Americans should stay at home. You can’t take us anywhere. Lol,” drew more than 1,400 reactions and mirrored a dominating sentiment.
Another recounted their personal experience in the European culture, noting that it was unusual that these two visitors were left unsupervised.
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
“I just spent 34 days in Italy. They always have a security person watch the art. This is weird, no one is around,” they wrote.
Another group on social media found fault with the Museum, pointing out that the artefact was neither behind glass nor behind a cordon, making it difficult to know that it was an exhibit.
Image credits: Vincent van Gogh
“I mean, if you put a chair somewhere, you gotta think that someone would actually use it as one. If you don’t want it to be used, then how about putting it behind glass or something,” wrote one person on Facebook.
The chair has been restored to its former glory
Image credits: Palazzo Maffei
The museum has since indicated that the chair has been repaired. It reached out, extending thanks to members of their security team and the law enforcement community at the restaurant in the area.
It is unclear how these entities contributed to the artefact’s restoration.
Many believe the chair should have been cordoned off
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