A foreign student reportedly caused an ancient Greek statue’s leg to fall off when he climbed on said statue to take a selfie. It happened at the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, and the incident was recorded by security cameras and discovered on Tuesday by the staff.
The sculpture dating back to the Hellenistic era depicts the “Drunken Satyr,” which shows a human-like figure with animal features, lying on a rock dozing, to symbolize the effects of wine and intoxication.
Fortunately, the statue is a replica, which explains why it’s located in the academy’s hallway and not in a more secure place. However, that statue and the others in the hallway, all of them copies, are still valuable as they were made in the workshops of the most famous sculptors of the early 19th century, including Antonio Canova.
This incident may hopefully serve as a reminder for museums’ rule no. 1: don’t touch the art.
