“What the Internet’s free culture has cost us in art”
via “PBS Hours“
loss
7 Times Someone (Accidentally) Ruined a Valuable Work of Art
“7 Times Someone (Accidentally) Ruined a Valuable Work of Art”
by Olivia B. Waxman via “Time”
Whoops.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reports that security camera footage appears to show a young man falling into and punching a hole through a painting said to be worth $1.5 million. Flowers, a 17th century oil painting and one of the few signed works by Italian master Paolo Porpora, was on display at “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius” exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, according to CNA.
Below is a glimpse at other reports of tourists being clumsy at museums:
• In May, two tourists reportedly broke off the crown atop “Statue of the Two Hercules,” which sits in Piazza del Comune, a medieval square in Cremona, Italy, when the pair allegedly tried to climb it and take photos.
• Also in May, the Greek Culture Ministry said a tourist tried to touch a prehistoric, Minoan-era vase at the Museum of Iraklio and knocked it over, suffering a minor leg injury.
• Last March, a student reportedly climbed onto a 19th century statue depicting a “Drunken Satyr” at Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, Italy, to take a selfie and broke it.
• Last July, an American student got stuck inside Pi Chacan, a stone sculpture of a vagina by Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara, which sat in front of Tübingen University’s Institute for Microbiology and Virology in Germany.
• In 2006, a man was arrested for smashing three 17th century Chinese porcelain vases said to be worth £500,000 (about $789,000) at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. . . . .
READ MORE
Italian art collector loses 13th century artwork worth one MILLION euros on Paris-Geneva train
“Italian art collector loses 13th century artwork worth one MILLION euros on Paris-Geneva train”
by Mark Duell via “Daily Mail Online“
Losing a treasured item can leave you feeling sick, so spare a thought for Francesco Plateroti.
The art collector from Italy left a 13th century piece by Chinese painter Wang Zhenpeng called The Banquet of Immortals on the Terrace of Jade on a high speed TGV train from Paris to Geneva.
Mr Plateroti got off the train in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a French town close to the Swiss border, before realising the artwork – worth €1million (£800,000) – was still in his briefcase in the carriage.
Train: An art collector left a 13th century piece on a high speed TGV service (file photo) from Paris to Geneva
He alerted staff who searched the train upon its arrival at the next stop of Geneva last month, but nothing was found, and Mr Plateroti is now offering a reward for the safe return of the painting.
He said that despite the painting’s high value it was unsaleable without the cultural certificate of authenticity he still had in his possession. He had been showing the work at an exhibition in Paris.
Mr Plateroti told The Local journalist Simone Flückiger: ‘I was crushed when I realised I didn’t have it with me. It was a massive shock. People take advantage of my misfortune.
‘They are calling me to say they have the painting and that they will send it once I put the reward money in their bank accounts. This all makes having lost the painting a lot worse.’
Station: Mr Plateroti got off the train in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a French town close to the Swiss border
But he said: ‘You have to be optimistic. After all, a positive attitude can overcome many obstacles.’
I was crushed when I realised I didn’t have it with me. It was a massive shock
Francesco Plateroti
All lost property items on the TGV are sent to a central office in Berne, Swizerland. But there has been no sign yet of the painting, which dates from the Yuan dynasty of 1280 to 1329.
Mr Plateroti added: ‘Anyone who finds and returns this will be well compensated. I am hopeful that I will have it back soon.’
The collector had been travelling on the 9789 TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) train from Paris to Geneva on November 21, which left the French capital at 8.11pm local time (7.11pm GMT).
The Cultured Muse 