The incident occurred a few weeks ago in the museum's contemporary art gallery. According to the institution, the child was holding a pine cone and inadvertently caused minor damage to the painting. The museum stressed that the incident was not intentional and that similar incidents occur from time to time in museums around the world, write CNN.
Created in 1959, the painting depicts a castle perched on a huge rock, soaring above a stormy sea. The work is considered one of the most valuable and beloved among visitors to the museum's collection. It was commissioned by a close friend and patron of the artist Harry Torchiner, who1 donated the painting to the museum in 1985 on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.
Rene Magritte's painting "The Castle of the Pyrenees"
“The Castle in the Pyrenees” is one of the museum’s most popular exhibits. In 2022, the painting was even dedicated to a separate exhibition, which told about the history of its creation and the path to the museum’s collection. It is known that Torciner commissioned Magritte’s work in order to block out the unattractive view outside the large window of his office.
The museum reported that a team of restorers is already engaged in researching and restoring the damaged canvas. Once the work is completed, the painting is planned to be returned to the exhibition as soon as possible.
Magritte's works remain among the most expensive on the world art market. In 2024, his painting "Empire of Light" (The Empire of Lights) was sold at auction for a record $121 million.
Earlier we wrote that At an auction in Lviv, a work by Maria Prymachenko was sold for over a million hryvnias.
Main photo – Jim Hollander / EPA / Shutterstock
See also:
Previously unknown Renoir painting sold at auction in Paris for 1,8 million euros
Rijksmuseum recognizes one of the paintings as an early work by Rembrandt
Van Gogh painting stolen six years ago restored in the Netherlands