Restrictions will be placed on visitors taking selfies at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence after a tourist damaged an 18th-century portrait while posing for a photograph, the gallery’s director confirmed today.
In a video posted on the Daily Mail website, the man is seen capturing a picture of himself mimicking the pose of Ferdinando de’ Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, in a 1712 portrait by Anton Domenico Gabbiani.
The man stumbles backward, falling against the portrait and leaving a hole near the prince’s right boot. The tourist reportedly tripped on a platform intended to keep visitors at an appropriate distance from the paintings.
Simone Verde, the director of Uffizi Galleries said in a statement: “The problem of visitors coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant: we will set very precise limits, preventing behaviour that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage. The tourist, who was immediately identified, will be prosecuted.”
The painting, which is included in the exhibition Florence and Europe: Arts of the 18th Century at the Uffizi, has since been removed for repair. The exhibition runs until 28 November but, according to an online statement, will remain closed until 2 July.
The incident follows another recent tourist mishap at the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, during which a visitor damaged a crystal-studded work called Van Gogh’s Chair (2006-07) by the artist Nicola Bolla. On CCTV footage a man can be seen sitting on the chair and posing for a photograph before the seat buckles under his weight. The museum says that the incident, which took place in April, was reported to the police.
