Mark Rothko Artwork Damaged
"Surface scratched after child touched it"
"Value of the piece estimated up to 82 billion won"
An artwork by American artist Mark Rothko, displayed at a museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was damaged by a child.
According to Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad (AD) and the BBC on April 28 (local time), the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam announced that Rothko's work 'Grey, Orange on Maroon No.8' was damaged on its surface after a child touched it while it was on display.
This abstract painting, created in 1960, measures 228.6 cm in height and 259.08 cm in width and is one of the museum's signature pieces. As the museum closed for large-scale renovations, the painting was temporarily exhibited in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the museum's storage facility, which is open to the public.
The museum told the BBC, "A small scratch is visible on the unvarnished paint layer at the bottom of the painting." The museum added, "We have consulted conservation experts in the Netherlands and abroad," and continued, "We are currently proceeding with the next steps for the treatment of the painting and expect that it will be possible to display the work again in the future."
According to AD, the value of this abstract painting is estimated to be up to 50 million euros (approximately 82.064 billion won). The museum has not commented on who should be held responsible for the damage. However, in 2011, the museum did require a visitor who stepped on a work by Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers to pay for the cost of repairs.
Experts noted that paintings without surface treatments such as varnish, like this damaged work, are particularly susceptible to damage and that this could pose problems for future viewing. Sophie McAlune, a conservation manager at an art restoration company, explained, "Because of the complex nature of modern materials, the absence of traditional coating layers, and the combination of intense monochrome fields that make even small areas of damage immediately noticeable, a scratch on the upper paint layer can significantly affect the viewing experience of the work."
This is not the first time a Rothko painting has been damaged. In 2012, a man in his twenties was sentenced to two years in prison for deliberately damaging Rothko's 1958 work 'Black on Maroon' at a gallery in London, United Kingdom. During the trial, the cost of repairs was estimated at around 200,000 pounds (about 380 million won), and restoration experts took 18 months to restore the painting.
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