There was a time when stories of damaged artworks weren't so grimly common. Before smartphones and selfies, precious pieces weren't so often pressed and leaned on in the name of content. But if reports from the last month are anything to go by, gallery etiquette is a dying art.
Putting aside examples of artworks deliberately targeted as part of political and environmental protests, we've seen a shocking rise in cases of pieces being damaged by gallery-goers taking selfies and videos. But is destroying a centuries-old masterpiece really worth it for the 'gram? At least the worst botched art restorations had decent intentions behind them.
Take the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, which saw the Swarovski crystal-covered Van Gogh’s Chair buckle under the weight of a man posing for a photo. Described by staff as "every museum’s nightmare,” CCTV footage shows the man and a fellow tourist flee the gallery after the disastrous photo op.
And just days later, at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, another tourist damaged a portrait of Tuscan prince Ferdinando de’ Medici painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani in 1712. Footage shows the visitor leaning back into the painting while attempting to recreate the subject's pose, ultimately tearing the canvas. “The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant,” the Uffizi’s director Simone Verde announced.
Indeed, the issue is becoming so problematic for European gallery staff that the Uffizi is considering imposing restrictions on visitor behaviour. Meanwhile, last month, Paris's Louvre Museum was unexpectedly closed when staff suddenly went on strike to protest difficult working conditions brought on by overcrowding and rampant phone use.
“This problem, with tourists damaging artwork, is something that is increasingly happening,” Professor Marina Novelli, director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Center at Nottingham University in England, told the New York Times.
Of course, the best solution would be for visitors, rather than staff, to solve the problem – by pocketing those phones and enjoying the artworks with their eyes. Sadly, this feels less realistic by the day.
