Selfie Incident Damages 18th-Century Painting at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery
A historic 18th-century oil painting at Florence’s renowned Uffizi Gallery has reportedly been damaged after a visitor allegedly fell while attempting to take a selfie. The incident highlights increasing concerns among cultural institutions regarding visitor behavior driven by social media trends.
The artwork affected is a 1712 portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani. According to the gallery, the visitor stumbled backward, reportedly tripping on a platform designed to maintain distance from the artwork, while trying to “make a meme in front” of the portrait by mimicking the subject’s pose. This fall allegedly resulted in a hole in the canvas near the prince’s right boot.
Museum Director Warns of “Precise Limits”
Uffizi Director Simone Verde confirmed the damage is repairable and stated it can be fixed quickly. However, he issued a strong statement regarding the incident and the broader issue of visitor conduct.
“The problem of visitors coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant,” Verde stated. He emphasized that the gallery intends to implement “very precise limits” in the future to prevent behavior deemed “not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage.”
Visitor Identified and Facing Prosecution
The visitor involved in the incident was quickly identified by police and has been reported to the judicial authorities. According to reports, they will face prosecution.
Impact on the Exhibition
The damaged portrait was on display as part of the temporary exhibition titled “Florence and Europe: Arts of the Eighteenth Century,” which features approximately 150 artworks. Following the incident, the exhibition temporarily closed. It is scheduled to remain closed until July 2nd to allow for the necessary repairs to the painting. Once restored, the portrait will be returned to display, and the exhibition will reopen, continuing its planned run until November 28th.
Not an Isolated Event: A Growing Problem for Museums
This incident at the Uffizi is not an isolated occurrence. Earlier this year, a similar event took place at Palazzo Maffei in Verona. In that case, a man allegedly slipped and fell onto Nicola Bolla’s crystal-studded artwork “Van Gogh’s Chair” (2006-07) while posing for photographs. That museum’s director noted that sometimes people “lose our brains to take a picture, and we don’t think about the consequences.”
While museum damage typically involves property, the pursuit of attention-grabbing photos has broader, sometimes fatal, implications. Globally, hundreds of deaths have been linked to risky selfie-taking behavior, with common causes including falls, transport accidents, and drowning. While not fatal, the Uffizi incident highlights the specific risk of falling associated with focusing on taking a photo rather than navigating a physical space designed to protect delicate objects.
The Uffizi director’s decision to consider stricter regulations underscores a growing challenge for cultural institutions worldwide: balancing accessibility and visitor engagement with the critical responsibility of preserving priceless art and artifacts for future generations.
