Boy punches hole in US$1.5m baroque painting at Taiwan exhibit
POSTED 25 Aug 2015 . BY Alice Davis
Still-Life of Flowers, oil-on-canvas
c. 1660, by Paolo Porpora
A 12-year-old boy took the trip of a lifetime on Sunday when he stumbled into a 17th-century still life, puncturing the canvas with his hand as he tried to steady himself.
The incident, which happened at an exhibition in the Huashan 1914 art district in Taipei, Taiwan, left a fist-sized hole in the painting. The work itself, Still Life of Flowers by Italian baroque artist Paolo Porpora, dates at around 1660 and is valued at US$1.5m (£950,000, €1.3m).
Like many of the 55 artworks at the exhibition – Images of a Genius: The Face of Leonardo – the Porpora oil painting belongs to a private collection.
According to the Central News Agency (CNA), Taiwan’s official news agency, the boy and his family will not be charged for the damage.
CCTV caught the boy’s unfortunate wobble on camera and the video was shared on CNA’s YouTube channel.
The exhibition curator, Andrea Rossi, was looking into repairing the artwork in Taiwan before returning it to Italy. He asked that the boy not be blamed, CNA reported.
According to the head of exhibition co-organiser TST Art of Discovery Sun Chi-hsuan, the insurance company would be asked to cover restoration costs and compensate the owner.
A similar accident occurred in 2010 when a woman fell into a 1904 painting by Pablo Picasso, creating a 15cm (6in) rip. The damage to The Actor, which was valued at the time at well over US$100m (£63m, €86.6m), happened at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and took three months to repair.
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Boy punches hole in US$1.5m baroque painting at Taiwan exhibit
POSTED 25 Aug 2015 . BY Alice Davis
Still-Life of Flowers, oil-on-canvas
c. 1660, by Paolo Porpora
A 12-year-old boy took the trip of a lifetime on Sunday when he stumbled into a 17th-century still life, puncturing the canvas with his hand as he tried to steady himself.
The incident, which happened at an exhibition in the Huashan 1914 art district in Taipei, Taiwan, left a fist-sized hole in the painting. The work itself, Still Life of Flowers by Italian baroque artist Paolo Porpora, dates at around 1660 and is valued at US$1.5m (£950,000, €1.3m).
Like many of the 55 artworks at the exhibition – Images of a Genius: The Face of Leonardo – the Porpora oil painting belongs to a private collection.
According to the Central News Agency (CNA), Taiwan’s official news agency, the boy and his family will not be charged for the damage.
CCTV caught the boy’s unfortunate wobble on camera and the video was shared on CNA’s YouTube channel.
The exhibition curator, Andrea Rossi, was looking into repairing the artwork in Taiwan before returning it to Italy. He asked that the boy not be blamed, CNA reported.
According to the head of exhibition co-organiser TST Art of Discovery Sun Chi-hsuan, the insurance company would be asked to cover restoration costs and compensate the owner.
A similar accident occurred in 2010 when a woman fell into a 1904 painting by Pablo Picasso, creating a 15cm (6in) rip. The damage to The Actor, which was valued at the time at well over US$100m (£63m, €86.6m), happened at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and took three months to repair.
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Holovis Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
RMA Ltd RMA Ltd is a one-stop global company
that can design, build and produce from a
greenfield site upw [more...]
TechnoAlpin Indoor TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. With the Indoor snow division, TechnoAlpin c [more...]
QubicaAMF UK QubicaAMF is the largest and most
innovative bowling equipment provider with
600 employees worldwi [more...]
