Museum’s CCTV shows moment visitor broke artwork by sitting on it

A crystal-covered chair was seriously damaged when a tourist sat on it while posing for a photograph at a museum in Verona, Italy.

A crystal-covered chair inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings was seriously damaged when a tourist sat on it while posing for a photograph, according to the Italian museum where the artwork is on display.

Footage released by the Palazzo Maffei in Verona shows a man and woman taking turns to pose with the museum’s “Van Gogh” chair, before the man sits on it, breaking its seat and two front legs.

The woman then helps him up, before both hurry out of the room.

Taking its name from the renowned Dutch painter, the work by Italian artist Nicola Bolla was inspired by Van Gogh’s 1888 painting “Van Gogh’s Chair,” which depicts a simple wooden chair positioned on a tile floor.

Bolla’s modern interpretation, which was made between 2006 and 2007, is covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals.

“They waited for the staff to leave the room,” Vanessa Carlon, the museum’s director, said in a video posted on its social media. “And then… off they went, indifferent to what had happened.”

Commenting on the CCTV footage, Carlon said: “What you just saw would be ridiculous if it hadn’t, unfortunately, actually happened. The ultimate nightmare for any museum.”

Initially, the museum was concerned that the chair would be unfixable because of its delicate design, but restorers did an “outstanding job,” Carlon said.

“Fortunately, the piece is shining once again,” she added.

The museum has reported the incident to the police, it told CNN Monday, adding that the identities of the people involved are not currently known.

Palazzo Maffei released the CCTV footage of the incident, which happened in April, on Thursday, as a reminder to visitors of the importance of treating art with respect.

“A special thanks to all of you who walk through the museum’s rooms every day with care, attention and wonder,” it said in a statement. “Because art is not just to be seen. It is to be loved.”

Other artworks have also fallen victim to gallery-goers in recent years.

In April, a painting by Mark Rothko, thought to be worth tens of millions of dollars, was removed from display in a Dutch museum after it was damaged by a visiting child.

Last year, a man shattered a sculpture by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in the Italian city of Bologna.

Billy Stockwell, CNN