A late seventeenth century portrait of Prince Ferdinando I de’ Medici by Anton Domenico Gabbiani was damaged at the Uffizi Galleries, Florence, on Saturday when a visitor fell on it while trying to pose for a photo.
Security footage shows a man attempting to imitate the prince’s pose before losing his balance and falling backwards into the canvas.
The portrait was on view at the Uffizi as part of a temporary exhibition on Florence and Europe in the eighteenth century.
‘The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now rampant’, said Simone Verde, director of the Uffizi, via The Telegraph. ‘We put in place very precise rules to try to impede behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage.’
The exhibition Florence and Europe. Arts of the Eighteenth Century is now temporarily closed, and will reopen from 2 July to 28 November.
