Tourist sits on and breaks 'Van Gogh' chair covered in hundreds of crystals

Indianapolis Star

17-06-2025

A couple destroyed a chair coated in crystals, known as the "Van Gogh" chair, at an Italian museum before video shows them fleeing the scene.
Footage captured by the museum, Palazzo Maffei, located in Verona, Italy, shows two tourists waiting to leave the area and then one of the two sits in the chair, which was covered in hundreds of Swarovski crystals, according to a press release published by the museum in Italian.
One person attempts to sit on the chair for a photo opp while the other holds the camera. As the tourist leans against the crystal-covered chair, suddenly the legs give out and piece collapses. The couple is then shown walking away. Watch the moment in the video above.
It's "the nightmare of every museum," the museum said in the statement.
The piece, which was placed on the pedestal before the incident and had a note on it asking guests not to touch it, has since been restored and placed back in the museum, according to the BBC.
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The chair was created by the artist Nicola Bolla between 2006 and 2007, according to CNN. It is a modern interpretation of Dutch artist Van Gogh's painting "Van Gogh's Chair," which was created in 1888.
"This painting of a simple chair set on a bare floor of terracotta tiles is one of Van Gogh's most iconic images," according to the National Gallery in London.
"Art must be respected!" the museum stated in the press release.
The museum said it released the video of the couple, not to condemn them, but "to make this serious event an opportunity for reflection for everyone."
The couple has not been identified.