Famed Magritte painting damaged by child with pine cone

Magritte's "Castle of the Pyrenees" (second from right) was accidentally damaged by a small child with a pine cone. (Jim Hollander/EPA/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource)

A painting by the Belgian artist René Magritte has been damaged by a 5-year-old boy wielding a pine cone.

Conservators at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem are currently restoring the “Castle of the Pyrenees” after the child caused what the museum described as “minor damage” to it in a recent incident.

The 1959 painting, which depicts a castle atop an enormous rock floating above stormy seas, is a “beloved highlight” of the institution’s collection, according to the museum. It was commissioned by the surrealist’s good friend and patron Harry Torczyner, who gave it to the institution in 1985 to mark its 20th anniversary.

A spokesperson for the museum told CNN on Friday that the painting “sustained minor, unintentional damage caused by a five-year-old child who was holding a pine cone.”

In a statement emailed to CNN, the spokesperson said: “As one of our most-visited paintings, a five-year-old boy and his grandmother sought it out in our modern art galleries a few weeks ago, resulting in minor damage.”

The spokesperson said the damage was done “inadvertently,” amounting to “an unfortunate incident that occasionally happens worldwide.”

Indeed, this is not the first time a work by a world-famous artist has been damaged by a young museum visitor. Last year, a Mark Rothko painting, believed to be worth millions of dollars, had to be removed from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. “Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8” was damaged when a visiting child scratched it. That piece has since been fully restored and is currently on display as part of a major Rothko exhibition in Florence, Italy.

Works by Magritte, one of the most prominent artists of the 20th-century surrealist movement, can command huge sums at auction. In 2024, his 1954 painting “L’empire des lumières” sold for a record US$121 million at Christie’s in New York.

Visitors to the Jerusalem museum often seek out “Castle of the Pyrenees,” and in 2022 it was the subject of an entire exhibition dedicated to its story and provenance. Visitors to that exhibition, the audio of which is still available on the museum’s website, discovered that Belgian art lover Torczyner commissioned Magritte to produce a work to cover an “ugly view” from a large window in his office.

The museum spokesperson told CNN: “Our expert conservation team is already studying and repairing the work, and we look forward to returning this beloved collection highlight to the galleries as soon as possible.”

They went on to add that, where possible, “the museum balances the visitor experience with the need to place barriers in front of artworks,” adding: “It is always evaluating this equilibrium.”

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN