Look, don’t touch — that’s what mothers tell their children.
That bit of advice — a must for patrons of fine art galleries — didn’t help a Taiwanese boy who tripped and fell into a 350-year-old painting by 17th-century Italian artist Paolo Porpora, leaving a fist-sized hole in the piece of art, reportedly valued at $1.5 million (U.S.).
TST Art of Discovery Co., organizer of the Face of Leonardo exhibit in Taipei, posted an account of the accident on the Facebook. Sun Chi-hsuan, a spokesperson, told Taiwanese media that they will not be pursuing the 12-year-old boy or his family for damages. The painting, which is privately owned, was insured.