Tourist shatters $50K Swarovski crystal Van Gogh chair at Verona museum in shocking photo mishap

Express Tribune

a day ago

An art installation at the Palazzo Maffei museum in Verona, Italy, was accidentally damaged by a tourist attempting to pose for a photo.
According to surveillance footage shared by the museum, the incident occurred when a male visitor sat on an art piece encrusted with thousands of Swarovski crystals — despite posted rules against touching the exhibit. The delicate sculpture, titled the "Van Gogh" chair by Italian artist Nicola Bolla, is inspired by the chair depicted in one of Vincent van Gogh's iconic paintings, The Bedroom.
Rather than mimicking a seated position like his female companion, the man fully sat on the piece, which immediately gave way. He stumbled while trying to catch himself, and the two hurried out of the room.
Palazzo Maffei publicly condemned the act in a social media post, calling the behavior 'superficial' and 'disrespectful,' and emphasized that the visitors waited for museum staff to leave before acting. 'They ignored every rule of respect for art and cultural heritage,' the museum said.
The museum initially feared the artwork might be beyond repair but confirmed days later that restoration efforts had succeeded. 'For days we didn't know if it would be possible to restore it. But we did it,' a staff member posted in Italian. The museum thanked law enforcement, their internal security team, and restoration experts for the recovery.
The cost of the repair has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the couple responsible will face any consequences.
Online commenters reacted strongly, with many condemning the tourists' disregard for museum etiquette.