Latest news with #UffiziGallery
The Star
10 hours 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
Indian Express
2 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.
Metro
2 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
Are selfies ruining museums? One reader thinks galleries should ban photography
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. I was saddened to read about the clumsy visitor to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence who ripped a 300-year-old portrait by Anton Domenico Gabbiani while trying to take a selfie (MetroTalk, Wed). On my first visit to Florence recently, any gallery or museum visit was ruined by the number of people who didn't seem to want to look at the incredible paintings but get as close to the canvas as they could to take a selfie. I think the galleries should ban photography. Mary Maguire, London So Brad Pitt says he's 'missed out on having a gay experience' (Metro, Thu). Get yourself to London, Brad, and sample some. More than willing to show you round. Bob Jones, Kidbrooke To those like Ken (MetroTalk, Tue) complaining about the heat on the buses in the summer, here's a radical suggestion: ride a bike and avoid congestion. Geoff, Oxford As the dry spell continues, I have noticed more and more sad, wilting trees and shrubs in public places. Councils and office owners spend so much on trying to make public spaces attractive but sometimes don't bother to follow up by watering regularly. If any of us notice this happening, as well as bringing attention to it, we can actually do things ourselves even if 'it's not our job'. Geoff Cosson, London London mayor Sadiq Khan has been bounding around proclaiming that the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has received the support of the overwhelming majority of Londoners. The claim is based on a consultation that had just over 6,000 respondents – two-thirds (66 per cent) of whom saying they were in favour. London has a population of 9million – 6,000 people does not constitute the voice of London residents and owners of businesses who operate there. Yes, 66 per cent is a majority but absolutely not an overwhelming majority. Two-thirds of 6,000 is 4,000. In a population of 9million, 4,000 does not constitute a mandate. Jee Wode, London To the teacher in hi-vis at Loughton station in north-east London on Monday morning who reprimanded me for pushing through a 'herd of buffalo' mass of schoolkids who stampeded onto the Tube carriage in a cacophony of infantile screams and shouts. I had to push through as they obviously ignored my attempt to alight from the train. I would have been trapped in that carriage if I'd permitted that army of underage stormtroopers to gain an extra inch. I'm not sure by their body language whether they even acknowledged the existence of a 61-year-old man with a herniated lumbar disc and an impaired left leg – that was me – who was simply trying to get off the train. By shaming me for doing the common sense and practical thing, you only shame yourself and your profession. It was your job to corral these kids into line and request them to let people off the train first – and you failed. You told me they were 'only children'. From what I could see, they were roughly 11 years old and old enough to obey instructions. More Trending And unlike me, they have young bones impervious to wear and tear and injury. William Barklam, Erith May I add to your silly joke submissions to lighten the mood? Two eggs boiling in a pan of water, one says to the other, 'Phew it's hot in here.' 'Wait until they take you out,' says the other, 'that's when they bash your head in.' Pat, Whitefield A good friend of mine – the local blacksmith – died. I adopted his dog. When I got him home, the first thing he did was make a bolt for the door. Peter Meyers, Bromley MORE: Bowling, burgers, fries and drinks: 10 unmissable Time Out deals MORE: Look cute on the court this summer with H&M Move's new racket collection MORE: Porn sites to make major change to who can watch x-rated videos
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Gallery wars! Are you a selfie fan or a silent snob?
You might have imagined that the biggest security threat to the world's great artworks these days came from environmental activists intent on chucking soup, paint or powder at priceless treasures. Last week a Picasso in Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts became the latest target, splashed with pink paint. But two recent incidents in Italy suggest that the stupidity of ordinary visitors can be just as destructive as the wilful vandalism of protesters. At the renowned Uffizi Gallery in Florence an early 18th-century painting of Ferdinando de' Medici by Anton Gabbiani had to be removed for repairs, and an entire exhibition temporarily closed, after a visitor apparently fell backwards into it, tearing the canvas while trying to create a meme with a phone. The Uffizi's director, Simone Verde, says that the museum will now 'set very precise limits' on visitors intent on taking selfies that are 'not compatible with respect for cultural heritage'. I'm not sure what the Italian is for 'shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted', but you have to wonder why such an esteemed institution didn't have 'precise limits' in place already. Especially as, earlier this summer, two tourists at another Italian gallery — Verona's Palazzo Maffei — managed to shatter a crystal-covered chair by the artist Nicola Bolla by pretending to sit on it (then, inevitably, falling on it) while taking selfies of each other. But such crass behaviour is not confined to Italy. Whether it's the British Museum, the Louvre, the Prado or the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the world's great art repositories are packed with visitors who seem far more intent on taking selfies — with a glimpse of the Mona Lisa, an Egyptian mummy or a Van Gogh sunflower in the background — than on looking at the masterpiece itself. And the selfie mania is just one example of a whole range of behaviours that exasperate those who still cling to the belief that the most important thing in an art gallery is the art — which should be studied in as near to a reverential silence as is possible in these crowded public spaces. The trouble is that the people who cling to this old-fashioned belief don't seem to include many of those who run the UK's main galleries. In The Times last weekend Maria Balshaw, the director of the Tate museums, welcomed an influx of under-35 visitors 'who didn't used to come to museums' and who now apparently come because 'they like the artist-led experience but they also want nice wine, and they want to be seen in a crowd with other people'. • How to deter the art vandals — punish them properly In other words, they are there precisely because they are being offered a socially pleasurable experience, with some interesting stuff on the walls that they may or may not glance at in passing. In the 1980s the Victoria and Albert Museum was ridiculed for marketing itself with the infamous slogan 'an ace caff with quite a nice museum attached'. We can see now that it was simply ahead of the curve. Today it's not just the Tate trying to woo young punters by promoting itself as a place where you can have a nice chat with your mates and take a few pics for your social media account in congenial surroundings. It's nearly every museum and gallery in Britain. Cases in point? This week we learn who has won the Art Fund's Museum of the Year award. When I talked a few weeks ago to the directors of the five contenders I was struck by how much each of them emphasised one aim above all others: to widen their museum's appeal by making their institutions as welcoming to newcomers as possible. • Read more art reviews, guides and interviews Laudable, you may say. But should that strategy include permitting, or even encouraging, new visitors — unaware of any museum etiquette — to behave as they would in a theme park? Or to feel that they haven't properly validated their experience of a great artwork unless they spend their whole time in its company setting up the perfect meme to amuse their followers on Insta? There are wider currents at work here, of course. We live in a mad age where we happily devalue every significant moment in life — from birth to marriage to your kid's first bike ride — by turning it into an amateur photoshoot. We also live at a time when, culturally, every experience must be reduced to its lowest common denominator lest it be labelled with the dread word 'elitist'. Which seems to mean tolerating behaviour that, even 20 years ago, would have been regarded as unacceptably antisocial. That's why, at certain West End shows on Friday and Saturday nights, drunken theatregoers now regularly heckle the performers — imagining that they have a licence to behave boorishly because they have paid for a ticket. Or why distinguished symphony orchestras have got into trouble with their longstanding supporters and indeed their musicians by tolerating audience members who film concerts illicitly on their phones. At a time when every arts institution is still trying to get its ticket sales back to pre-Covid levels, you can understand why arts leaders are reluctant to set rules that might deter new punters. But would a little etiquette really put them off? When people step inside the National Gallery they surely don't want to experience the same hubbub as outside in Trafalgar Square. They want to escape from that. Learning to look at art — really look at it, not just glance in passing — is a skill best nurtured in an atmosphere of tranquillity. There's also the matter of behaving in a way that shows respect — respect both for other visitors and for the magnitude of the artistic genius arrayed all around you. 'Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,' Picasso said. Well, it can do if we give it the time and concentration to work its magic on us. But for that to happen you have to accept that, when you step into a room with great art in it, the most important thing in that room isn't you. Sounds obvious, until you watch someone fall onto a 300-year-old painting while trying to take a selfie. by Blanca SchofieldSchoolboys damage the Elgin Marbles, British Museum, London, 1961The British government's case in the back and forth with the Greeks about the future of the 2,500-year-old sculptures can't have been helped by the two rowdy students who had a fight and fell into the artwork, knocking off part of a centaur's hind leg. Worse, the damage was irrevocable as archivists couldn't replace the missing chips. Always keep an eye on the kids: this year a child made headlines by scratching a £42 million Rothko in Rotterdam. A man falls into three Qing dynasty vases, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2006Always double-knot your shoes. Nick Flynn, 42, tripped over his untied laces when walking down a staircase and ended up falling into three 400-year-old Chinese vases, worth £100,000. He blamed the absence of a handrail but even so, he was banned from the museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was kinder to the woman who lost her balance at an art class in 2010 and ripped the £80 million Picasso work The Actor — refusing to give her name to the press and reassuring her it would be fixed in a couple of months. Pauline Bonaparte loses her toes, Antonio Canova Museum, Possagno, 2020Antique chairs in museums often bear a sign saying 'please do not sit here', but you'd think that might go without saying for sculptures. Not so for one Austrian tourist who decided to lie on Antonio Canova's sculpture of Napoleon's sister, looking to replicate her pose for a photo. He broke off her toes in the process, but promised to pay for damages. He wasn't the only one to damage a digit: in 2013 an American tourist held the hand of a 14th-century statue in Florence and broke off its little finger. The display banana is eaten … twice, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul, 2023Maurizio Cattelan is the artist behind the golden toilet that was sensationally stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. In the same year he taped a banana to a wall and gave it the title Comedian. It was also stolen — or, rather, eaten. The first time the perpetrator was a fellow artist, David Datuna, at Art Basel, Miami, and Cattelan may have been in on the joke. In 2023, however, the incident occurred in South Korea at the hands of an art student. His excuse? He was hungry.
Observer
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Observer
Tourist taking a selfie damages painting in Italy's Uffizi Gallery
A visitor to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence damaged a priceless oil painting while attempting 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 capture a photograph — until the canvas gave way. Italian broadcaster TG1 posted a video on X showing the painting's canvas tearing under the man's weight. The painting is regarded as one of the highlights of the current exhibition. The man was identified by museum staff and reported to the police. A photograph in the local newspaper Corriere Fiorentino shows a tear in the canvas. The museum management said that the damage is minor 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 issue 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. 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 found the perfect photo opportunity — they sat on the glittering sculpture, which then broke, as seen in a surveillance video from the museum. —dpa
