The tourist ruthless behavior at the Palazzo Maffei Museum in Verona, Italy, caused extensive criticism after breaking the delicate art installation and tried to introduce a photo. A damaged piece, called the chair “van Gogh”, is a fragile work of art created by Italian artist Nicola Boll. It is covered exclusively in Swarovski crystals and was inspired by the famous image of the simple wooden chair Vincent van Gogh.
The CCTV shots from the museum show that the man ignores stamps that clearly warned visitors to avoid touching a work of art. While his female companion was just pretending to sit, he was fully on the chair. The structure that is not built to carry the weight collapsed under it. When he lost his balance, he reached out on a nearby wall for support before the chair retreated completely. The woman then helped him and the couple quickly left the room without informing the museum employees of damage.
The museum condemned this act and described it as “superficial” and “disrespectful”. Director Vanessa Carlon said that tourists “intentionally waited for the room to be empty,” describes the incident as “disturbing”. She noted that while the damage may not have been intentional, their decision to escape was “unacceptable”.
Initially, there were concerns that the work of art may not be repairable. Since then, however, the restorers have been repaired. The museum expressed thanks to experts in the police, safety and restoration for their quick response. Repair costs have not been published and it is not clear whether tourists will face legal measures.
The incident ruled the debate on tourist behavior in cultural spaces, with many social media users criticized the possession of selfies and viral content at the expense of respecting art and history.
(Tagstotranslate) Tourist behavior
