Taiwanese Kid Rips Old Art

A 12-year-old boy took an expensive tumble at a Taipei art exhibition on August 23, smashing a fist-sized hole through a US$1.5 million, 350-year-old Paolo Porpora painting entitled “Flowers” while trying to break his fall.

The exhibition, “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius,” held at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, featured over 50 authentic works by prominent artists from the Italian Renaissance to the 20th century. Curator Andrea Rossi, though shocked by the incident, asked that the boy not be blamed or made to pay for the cost of restoration. Despite international headlines calling the incident one of the most expensive art blunders in recent history, Taiwanese art restoration experts were able to repair “Flowers” within two days of the accident.