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After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough
After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough

Sydney Morning Herald

time4 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough

It's another summer of European selfie snafus. On Saturday, a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, stepped backward into a painting while trying to pose like its subject, Ferdinando de' Medici, a 17th-century grand prince and patron of the arts. For the Uffizi's director, that was the last straw, and he isn't alone in his frustration. This spring, in the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy, a visitor broke a chair covered in Swarovski crystals. This, too, was the result of a snapshot gone wrong: a man apparently waited for the guards to leave before posing, in an ill-fated attempt at squatting. And this month, the staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris went on an unauthorised strike to protest, in part, overcrowding and the headaches caused by selfie-taking tourists. 'The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant,' Simone Verde, the Uffizi's director, said in a statement. Europe's museums are struggling to cope with the problematic side of their large-scale appeal and protect their collections from summer visitors who flock to their galleries to make social media content and cool down in rare continental air conditioning, whether or not they gain a deeper knowledge of art and culture. The recent episodes, at the start of the high tourist season, have called attention to a long-standing problem: too many tourists toting too many phones. Museums have not been able to find a foolproof compromise, despite their best efforts. 'This problem, with tourists damaging artwork, is something that is increasingly happening,' said Marina Novelli, director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre at Nottingham University in England. Previously, Novelli said, tourists might have had paintings that they wanted to see in person. Now, she said, they come with a 'selfie bucket list' of paintings or places they want to photograph — or be photographed in front of — essentially creating personalised postcards from the trip.

After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough
After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough

The Age

time4 hours ago

  • The Age

After another selfie gone wrong, Europe's museums have had enough

It's another summer of European selfie snafus. On Saturday, a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, stepped backward into a painting while trying to pose like its subject, Ferdinando de' Medici, a 17th-century grand prince and patron of the arts. For the Uffizi's director, that was the last straw, and he isn't alone in his frustration. This spring, in the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy, a visitor broke a chair covered in Swarovski crystals. This, too, was the result of a snapshot gone wrong: a man apparently waited for the guards to leave before posing, in an ill-fated attempt at squatting. And this month, the staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris went on an unauthorised strike to protest, in part, overcrowding and the headaches caused by selfie-taking tourists. 'The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant,' Simone Verde, the Uffizi's director, said in a statement. Europe's museums are struggling to cope with the problematic side of their large-scale appeal and protect their collections from summer visitors who flock to their galleries to make social media content and cool down in rare continental air conditioning, whether or not they gain a deeper knowledge of art and culture. The recent episodes, at the start of the high tourist season, have called attention to a long-standing problem: too many tourists toting too many phones. Museums have not been able to find a foolproof compromise, despite their best efforts. 'This problem, with tourists damaging artwork, is something that is increasingly happening,' said Marina Novelli, director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre at Nottingham University in England. Previously, Novelli said, tourists might have had paintings that they wanted to see in person. Now, she said, they come with a 'selfie bucket list' of paintings or places they want to photograph — or be photographed in front of — essentially creating personalised postcards from the trip.

Tourist selfies threaten artwork in Europe's museums
Tourist selfies threaten artwork in Europe's museums

Straits Times

time3 days ago

  • Straits Times

Tourist selfies threaten artwork in Europe's museums

Europe's museums are struggling to cope with the problematic side of their large-scale appeal and protect their collections from summer visitors. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI LONDON – It is another summer of European selfie snafus. On June 21, a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, stepped backwards into a painting while trying to pose like its subject, Ferdinando de' Medici, a 17th-century grand prince and patron of the arts. For the Uffizi's director, that was the last straw, and he is not alone in his frustration. This spring, in the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy, a visitor broke a chair covered in Swarovski crystals. This, too, was the result of a snapshot gone wrong: A man apparently waited for the guards to leave before posing, in an ill-fated attempt at squatting. And in June, the staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris went on an unauthorised strike to protest, in part, overcrowding and the headaches caused by selfie-taking tourists. '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 said in a statement. Europe's museums are struggling to cope with the problematic side of their large-scale appeal and protect their collections from summer visitors, who flock to their galleries to make social media content and cool down in rare continental air-conditioning, whether or not they gain a deeper knowledge of art and culture. The recent episodes, at the start of the high tourist season, have called attention to a long-standing problem: Too many tourists toting too many phones. Museums have not been able to find a foolproof compromise, despite their best efforts. 'This problem, with tourists damaging artwork, is something that is increasingly happening,' said Professor Marina Novelli, director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Center at Nottingham University in England. Previously, she said, tourists might have had paintings that they wanted to see in person. Now, they come with a 'selfie bucket list' of paintings or places they want to photograph – or be photographed in front of – essentially creating personalised postcards from the trip. 'It's more about sharing, not necessarily the experience, but the fact that 'I was there,'' she said. It is not just museums that are straining under the weight of their own appeal. European cities are also trying to find a balance between welcoming visitors and protecting residents in the age of mass tourism. Museums face competing goals. Part of their mission is to allow the public to see art that for generations was hidden away from view in the homes of aristocrats and other elites. They want visitors and often need ticket revenue to survive. But museums also have a duty to protect their art and preserve it for the future. Cellphones are a major part of the challenge as tourists crowd, climb and stunt for the camera. The devices can distract parents from their curious children, who have also damaged art in recent months, and turn museums into protest theatres. Climate demonstrators have targeted pieces with paint, glue or soup to raise awareness about the dangers of unchecked carbon emissions, and then used their phones to document the protests on social media. 'Museums walk a very fine line between accessibility and preservation,' Prof Novelli said. She suggested that institutions should approach the problem with a range of measures, like 'subtle but effective' physical barriers, selfie zones, warning alarms and better signage. In Verona, museum officials released a video from closed-circuit television cameras showing the sparkling chair as it collapsed under the tourist's weight, hoping to identify those behind the destruction and encourage better behaviour. They also said they planned to protect the chair with plexiglass. Mr Verde of the Uffizi pledged to 'set very precise limits' and move towards 'preventing' such behaviour. The gallery did not share footage of the episode with The New York Times and declined to specify what limits, if any, it might impose on tourists in the future. For now, the episode has marred what was supposed to have been a festive month for the Uffizi, which just celebrated the dismantling of an unsightly crane that had loomed over it for nearly two decades. But the painting is expected to survive. The museum said the work had been 'lightly damaged' and would need to be restored. The Uffizi said the artwork would soon take its place again in an exhibition about the 18th century, which has been temporarily closed . NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Tourist taking a selfie damages painting in Italy's Uffizi Gallery
Tourist taking a selfie damages painting in Italy's Uffizi Gallery

The Star

time5 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • The Star

Tourist taking a selfie damages painting in Italy's Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery management said that the damage to the Baroque-era painting is minor, however, and can be repaired. The painting was immediately removed for restoration. Photo: AP A visitor to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence damaged a priceless oil painting while trying to take a selfie, the museum revealed on Saturday. The unidentified tourist leaned against the Baroque portrait Portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince Of Tuscany by Anton Domenico Gabbiani to take a photo - until the canvas gave way. Italian broadcaster TG1 posted a video on X, which shows the painting's canvas tearing under the man's weight. The painting is considered one of the highlights of the current exhibition. The man was identified by museum staff and reported to the police. A photo in the local newspaper Corriere Fiorentino shows a tear in the canvas. An unidentified tourist leaned on Anton Domenico Gabbiani's 'Portrait Of Ferdinando de' Medici' for a photo - until the canvas gave way. Photo: YouTube/Screenshot The museum management said that the damage is minor, however, and can be repaired. The painting was immediately removed for restoration. Museum director Simone Verde expressed his outrage to the Italian news agency ANSA. He said the problem of visitors coming to museums to take selfies or memes for social networks was getting out of hand. "We will establish clear rules to prevent behaviour that is incompatible with the purpose of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage," Verde asserted. This is not the first time that art has fallen victim to selfies. Just recently, two visitors to the Palazzo Maffei in Verona destroyed a "Van Gogh chair" by artist Nicola Bolla, which was encrusted with Swarovski crystals. The couple had apparently discovered the perfect photo opportunity - they sat down on the glittering sculpture, which then broke, as can be seen on a surveillance video from the museum. - dpa

The Age of Selfie, now in museums
The Age of Selfie, now in museums

Indian Express

time6 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Indian Express

The Age of Selfie, now in museums

The distance between the fine art of painting and the mundane selfie collapsed — quite literally — when a visitor at Florence's Uffizi Gallery tripped while posing for a photo with an 18th-century portrait of a Tuscan prince. According to the museum, the 300-year-old painting of Ferdinando de' Medici sustained a tear when the visitor tumbled into it. It has now been removed for repairs, while the accidental vandal, who was reportedly trying to mimic the prince's pose when the incident occured, has been apprehended. Galleries and museums across Europe have responded by bemoaning the scourge of the selfie-taking tourist — understandably so, given another recent incident where a couple accidentally broke a sculpture inspired by Van Gogh's 'Chair' at the Palazzo Maffei in Verona (one of them accidentally fell backwards into the fragile artwork while pretending to sit in it). Yet, as the artist Nicola Bolla (who created the chair) points out, the institutional response of anger is not the only one. From the Dadaists in the early 20th century — who encouraged visitors to destroy artworks at their notorious 1920 exhibition in Cologne — to artists like Maria Kulikovska and John Baldessari — who obliterated their creations as part of performances — the loss or destruction of works has been used to enrich art. Each instance of damage might tell a story or ask a vital question, like when a gallery staffer cleaned up a Damien Hirst installation that was meant to look like the mess left behind after a wild party: Was this vandalism or, as the artist himself concluded, an inadvertent comment on art? Years from now, it is possible that the accidents of Florence and Verona will, as Bolla has already noted, be seen as 'a kind of performance', perhaps telling a story about the Age of the Selfie.

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