DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Tourist damages a 200-year-old sculpture after lying on it for a photo

Aug 31, 2020 by Dunja Djudjic 8 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

While visiting the Antonio Canova Museum in Possagno, Italy, a tourist managed to damage a 19th-century statue because – as you could probably guess – he posed for a photo. The man thought it would be awesome to lie next to the statue and have his photo taken. And when he did so, he broke off three of the statue’s toes.

The incident took place earlier this month when a group of tourists from Austria visited the Antonio Canova Museum. A surveillance camera caught the 50-year-old man when he lied next to the statue and posed for a photo. In the video above, you can see him checking what happened when he stood up. He even discretely tried putting the statues’ toes back in place.

Shortly after the incident, the museum published on its Facebook page that the man was identified. He even wrote a letter to Vittorio Sgarbi, the President of Canova Foundation, and the museum cited a part of it:

“I’d like to report myself, after today I read about the incident in Austrian newspapers and it was immediately clear to me that I had to get in touch.

I remain at complete disposal, it was irresponsible behavior on my part, the consequences were unknown to me, so I normally continued the visit to the museum and the entire stay in Italy (I didn’t escape). During the visit, I sat on the statue, without realizing the damage I evidently caused. I ask you for information on the steps that are necessary on my part in this situation for me very unpleasant and for which, in the first place, I apologize in all ways.”

Sgarbi reportedly commented that he “appreciates the civic sense of this man and takes note of his words of embarrassment for what happened.” According to Barnebys, the man even offered to pay the costs of restoring the statue. The same source notes that the provincial court in Treviso hasn’t decided yet whether or not to take legal action against the man.

The neoclassical statue was made in 1804 by Antonio Canova, showing a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Pauline Bonaparte. It’s a part of a collection of plaster casts which is kept in the Antonio Canova Museum. The final marble statue that was made from it is kept in Rome. And as far as I know, so far it hasn’t been damaged by tourists who wanted a perfect Instagram snap.

[via Barnebys]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

How to turn smoke into low lying fog for your next spooky photo shoot Wu Tang Clan’s limited-edition photo book comes in a 400-pound sculpture A group of tourists damages thermal springs in Yellowstone National Park in order to take photos A man smashes high-priced sculpture because of a selfie

Filed Under: news Tagged With: damage, Italy, museum, Stupid, Tourist, Tourists

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Sony’s new tiny full-frame E mount camera will be the A7C, priced around $2,000
Here is a simple $20 studio you can set up anywhere »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Netflix sued for using unauthorized drone footage in advertisement
  • This massive 114-gigapixel virtual tour of Barcelona took three months to create
  • Canon EOS R3 facial recognition now knows who to focus on in a crowd
  • Canon EOS R5 now shoots 400-megapixel photos after new firmware update
  • Midjourney stops free trial due to “trial abuse”

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy