Tourist’s Moment on a Van Gogh Chair Leads to Shocking Swarovski Crystal Disaster in Italian Museum
The Incident Involving The ‘Van Gogh’ Chair
Palazzo MaffeiA woman pretended to sit in the chair for a photo moments before the man who was with her damaged the work of art.
Despite the sculpture’s form and name, Bolla’s chair is not meant for sitting. The chair, which was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s 1888 painting Van Gogh’s Chair, is covered with thousands of Swarovski crystals. The museum has not released its estimated value.
The crystals sit on a mostly hollow frame, making the chair very fragile, art historian Carlotta Menegazzo explained to the BBC.
“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,” Menegazzo said.
The video shows the couple pretending to sit in the chair, initially not touching it. Then, the man slips and falls onto the chair, breaking the seat and its two front legs.
The couple fled the museum without alerting any staff about what had happened. Palazzo Maffei director Vanessa Carlon noted, “Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us — that isn’t an accident.”
Public DomainVan Gogh’s Chair, the 1888 painting that inspired the Swarovski crystal-covered chair.
“Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don’t think about the consequences,” Carlon added. “This is a nightmare for any museum.”
Luckily, the chair was salvageable. Restorers were able to fix the damage, and the chair is back on display.
The museum has contacted the police, but the tourists have yet to be identified. It is unclear what, if any, consequences they may face for the damage.
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