TORONTO – A 17th century painting is back on display after a clumsy kid tripped in a Taiwan art museum and used the $1.5-million artwork to break his fall.
Organizers of the Face of Leonardo: Images of a Genius exhibition in Taipei released video footage of the weekend incident.
Footage showed the boy walking, drink in hand, with a tour when he lost his balance, and used the wall –well, the painting, to break his fall.
“It was such an unusual accident,” event organizer David Sun told Reuters. “The boy was listening to the guide and wasn’t looking where he was going, and tripped and smashed a hole in the artwork.”
Organizers said the boy left a hole “the size of fist” in the bottom corner of the piece.
“We had an Italian appraiser on hand and immediately contacted the collector,” Sun said.
“Flowers” by Italian artist Paolo Porpora was repaired over the weekend and is back on display.
Organizers said the boy and family apologized and won’t face any punishment.
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