In the series of “idiots” accidents caused by indelicate visitors, here is the “Van Gogh chair”which does not really have to do with Van Gogh if not its form. It is a work of contemporary art, produced with crystals and exhibited at Casa Museo Palazzo Maffei in Verona. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, was only made public after the restoration of the work in early June. Despite the apparent fragility of the work and the explicit signaling “Do not sit”a visitor, pretending to sit to be taken in a picture slipped and broken two of the feet as well as the seat. The video, which has become viral, has toured social networks.
Verona’s accident is part of a series of similar incidents involving visitors. In 2020, also in Italy, at the Antonio Canova Museum in Possagno, sculpture Paolina Borghese in victorious Venus Was damaged when a tourist, sitting on the base to take a photograph, broke two toes from the statue. The author of the facts, identified by the authorities, recognized his responsibility and financed the restoration work.
More serious degradations have been identified. In 2024, at the Hécht Museum in Haifa (Israel), a four-year-old child destroyed an intact Indo-Mesopotamian vase dating from 3,500 years. The child, playing, climbed the display, causing the fall of the object, which has smashed into thousands of fragments. The reconstruction of the vase was considered impossible.
In April 2016, at the Museum of Glass in Shanghai, the work Angel is waiting De Shelly Xue was broken when two children shot the installation to take a photo. The room, composed of glass, dislocated by falling to the ground. The artist has chosen to keep the fragments, renamed his work Broken And integrating the accident into its artistic process.
In general, these accidents are almost always involuntary. Children are among the main managers, often during photo sessions. If most of the damage remain repairable, some works undergo irreversible losses. The reactions of institutions vary according to the age of visitors and the circumstances of the facts. Although the identification of the authors is sometimes made possible by video recordings or the registers of visitors, few legal proceedings are undertaken.
