A 17th-century portrait of Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici was torn on Saturday at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence when a visitor attempted to take a photo mimicking the pose of the prince depicted in the painting. The visitor, a young Italian man, asked his girlfriend to take the shot, unaware that the stunt would end with real damage to a historic artwork.
As he stepped closer to the oil painting—Portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici by Anton Domenico Gabbiani—the man tripped over a protective barrier and fell directly onto the canvas. In an effort to brace his fall, he extended his arm and tore the fabric. The entire incident was captured on a security camera.
The painting, dated circa 1690, was on display as part of the exhibition Florence and Europe: Arts of the 18th Century at the Uffizi, which opened on May 28. Following the damage, the exhibition has been temporarily closed and is set to reopen on July 2, continuing its run through November 28.
The director of the Uffizi Galleries, Simone Verde, addressed the incident with concern, highlighting a broader cultural problem: “A tourist who wanted to create some sort of meme in front of the painting, striking the same pose as the Medici prince, ripped the canvas of the artwork,” Verde told The Telegraph. “The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now rampant. We put in place very precise rules to try to impede behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage.”
The visitor has been identified and reported to local police. In addition to facing possible criminal charges, he may also be held responsible for the cost of restoring the painting.
Ferdinando de’ Medici, the subject of the damaged portrait, was a grand prince of Tuscany and an important cultural figure of his era. Known for his passion for music, he notably supported the invention of the piano by Bartolomeo Cristofori. His patronage helped establish Florence as a thriving center for music and the arts in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The Medici family, of course, remains one of the most storied dynasties in European history—bankers, rulers, and unrivaled patrons of Renaissance art and architecture. That one of their portraits would fall victim to the contemporary selfie craze is a bitter irony.
This incident once again raises questions about the balance between public access and preservation, and the growing need to educate visitors about respectful museum behavior in the age of social media.
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