A 12-year-old boy accidentally punched a hole in 17th-century oil painting "Flowers" by Paolo Porpora at a Taipei exhibition on Sunday.
Surveillance footage reveals that the boy tripped over a rope barrier post while walking near the floral still life. Stumbling toward the painting, the boy extended his arms in an effort to regain balance, but his hands made contact with the painting, leaving a hole the size of his fist.
Head of the exhibition co-organizer TST Art of Discovery Co. Sun Chi-hsuan said that the 350-year-old painting is valued at NT$50 million ($1.5 million).
However, the organizers said that they will not demand that the boy's family pay for damages.
Sun speculates that boy, who was visiting the exhibition with his mother, was probably not aware of his surroundings because his focus was on the guided tour.
Curator of the exhibition Andrea Rossi was shocked after learning about the incident. She will discuss restoring the painting in Taiwan before shipping it back to Italy.
Sun said that the boy was nervous when he spoke to him, but he asked the exhibit organizers not to blame the boy and not to ask for compensation from the family. He added that the organizers will speak to the exhibition's insurers about covering restoration costs and compensating the painting's owner.
This marks the first time major damage was done to a painting on loan in Taiwan.
The painting was part of the exhibition "The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park." The exhibition displays over 50 works by prominent artists who were active from the Italian Renaissance until the 20th century.
The exhibit was closed Monday morning due to the incident, but it reopened Monday afternoon.
"All 55 paintings in the venue are authentic pieces and they are very rare and precious. Once these works are damaged, they are permanently damaged," TST Art of Discovery said in a post on the exhibition's official Facebook page. "We hope that everyone can protect these precious artworks with us."
According to Sun, an 80-centimeter distance is maintained between each painting and the visitors.
At the time of the incident, an estimated 200 to 300 visitors attended the venue, which was within the allowed limit, Sun added.