The portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici (centre) was damaged by a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries.
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An incident involving a visitor has led to the damage of a 17th-century artwork at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence. The mishap occurred when the visitor stumbled backwards while taking a photo, the museum stated.

While touring the renowned museum on Saturday, the visitor inadvertently harmed a portrait of Tuscan prince Ferdinando de’ Medici. The painting, created around 1695-1700 by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, was affected, the museum revealed on Monday.

In widely circulated security camera footage of the incident, a man can be seen posing in front of the oil painting before leaning back and then quickly jumping up as he realises he touched it.
The portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici (centre) was damaged by a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries.
The portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici (centre) was damaged by a visitor to the Uffizi Galleries. (Uffizi)
Pictures later published by local media showed a small tear in the painting around the area of the nobleman’s ankle.

The identity of the visitor remains undisclosed, but the incident has been reported to local authorities. The artwork has been withdrawn for restoration, though the museum described the harm as “minor,” assuring it will be on display shortly.

This episode led Simone Verde, the Uffizi Galleries director, to express concern over “the issue of visitors who attend museums to create memes or take selfies for social media purposes.”

“We will set very precise limits, preventing behaviours that are not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage,” he added in a statement sent to CNN.

Museum-goers accidentally damaging exhibits in the pursuit of the perfect photo appears to be an increasing problem for the institutions.

Just last week, a crystal-covered chair inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings was seriously damaged when a tourist sat on it while posing for a photograph at a museum in Verona.

In April, a child damaged a huge painting by Mark Rothko, thought to be worth tens of millions of dollars, while visiting a Dutch museum.

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