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“It’s kinda more interesting now”: Tourist shamed after damaging Van Gogh-inspired chair at art museum. Viewers have mixed feelings about it

“They ignored every rule of respect for art and cultural heritage.”

Photo of Charlotte Colombo

Charlotte Colombo

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A tourist has been publicly shamed by the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy, after badly damaging a sculpture. Inspired by Vincent van Gogh, the sculpture, which depicts a chair covered in Swarovski crystals, was made by Nicola Bolla. The chair sits in pride of place in the Italian museum, but as shown in a video posted to the Maffei’s Facebook, it was very nearly destroyed.

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In the clip, which has since gone viral, a woman pretends to sit on the chair as a man attempts to take a picture of her. When she tries to return the favor, the man tries to sit on the chair fully. Predictably, the chair buckles under the weight of him and collapses. The woman helps him up, and they both rush out of the room.

The museum blasted the pair on the Facebook post accompanying the clip, writing that the pair were acting “disrespectfully.”

“They ignored every rule of respect for art and cultural heritage,” the post, which was written in Italian, read.

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Fortunately, the chair was restored. “For days we didn’t know if it would be possible to restore it. But we did it,” the museum added. “A heartfelt thanks goes to the police, our security department and the restorers, whose precious work allowed the work to be recovered.”

The post concluded, “And a special thanks to all of you who walk through the museum’s halls every day with care, attention and wonder. Because art is not just to be seen. It is to be loved. It is to be protected.”

Meanwhile, art historian Carlotta Menegazzo pointed out to the BBC that “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.”

What the public thinks

As the clip went viral on Reddit, users shared their own views on the misadventure.

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“Walked away like Jason Bourne,” one quipped.

Another noted that while it was a “relief” the chair was repairable, the tourists’ behavior was still “unacceptable.”

“Some people really lack class,” they added.

While a third shared a picture of the collapsed chair and joked, “Ehh, it’s kinda more interesting now.”

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“Rather than repair it, they should have left the ruined chair under a screen with this playing on a loop, it would get more attention than the intact chair even would, and would raise awareness of the problem,” another said. “The sad truth is nobody would care about this chair if that guy hadn’t broken it.”

In an interview with the BBC, museum director Vanessa Carlon said, “Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don’t think about the consequences. Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us – that isn’t an accident. This is a nightmare for any museum.”

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