(WJW) — Museum officials in Italy shared a stern warning to guests after surveillance video captured a man breaking a piece of artwork by sitting on it.
The incident happened at the House Museum Palazzo Maffei in the city of Verona.
Museum officials posted the surveillance footage to Facebook on Thursday. As seen above, the video shows two tourists taking photos with artist Nicola Bolla’s “Van Gogh chair.”
In the video, a woman was seen pretending to sit on the chair while the man took her picture. The man then sat on the chair, causing its legs to snap, before the pair quickly left the exhibit.
According to the BBC, the museum contacted police, but the suspects haven’t been identified.
Museum director Vanessa Carlon described the situation as “the ultimate nightmare for any museum.”
“Van Gogh’s Chair by artist Nicola Bolla is extremely fragile, made with a delicate inner structure and covered in a myriad of Swarovski crystals,” Carlon said in the video. “We (were) truly worried it might not be possible to restore it.”
But thanks to restoration experts, “fortunately, the piece is shining once again,” Carlon added.
Museum officials went on to say this serves as a reminder to guests about how fragile artwork can be and how important it is to take care of it.
“Art must be loved and enjoyed, but always respected!” officials said on Palazzo Maffei’s website.
According to the BBC, the artwork pays tribute to Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of a simple chair.