Taiwanese Pre-Teen Wrecks a Masterpiece

A 17th century painting worth $1.5 million dollars was damaged by a 12-year-old boy in Taiwan when he tripped and put his hand through it. “Flowers” by Italian master Paolo Porpora (1617–1673) was part of a 50-painting exhibit called “The Face of Leonardo. The exhibit’s main organizer, David Sun, said: “It was such an unusual accident,” Sun said. “The boy was listening to the guide and wasn’t looking where he was going, and tripped and smashed a hole in the artwork.” He also said that the boy’s family would not have to pay for the damage.

“We had an Italian appraiser on hand and immediately contacted the collector,” Sun said. “We decided to repair the painting immediately on site and it’s back on display already.”

The insurance covered the restoration. Still, you have to wonder how much that cost. You can’t have just any old body working on a painting worth over a million bucks so it can’t be cheap.

Click on the detail of painting to learn more about it.