Visitor sits on Swarovski-studded chair in museum, destroys it and escapes

A video of a tourist sitting on a Swarovski-studded chair in a museum, destroying it and then escaping without informing anyone is going viral on social media.

The incident took place at the Palazzon Maffei art gallery in Verona, Italy.

The CCTV footage shows two guests alone in the art gallery, taking pictures with the chair.

First, a woman pretends to sit on the chair, while a man takes the photo. Then, the man proceeds towards the chair while the woman holds the camera. At first, the man is simply pretending to sit, while he gets the photos taken. But the next instant, he sits on the delicate chair, causing it to buckle instantly bunder his weight.

The man holds on to the wall behind him to keep himself from falling, even as the artwork gets badly damaged.

They can then be seen hurrying out of the room, without informing anyone.

According to the gallery’s social media page, the ‘Van Gogh’ chair was created by artist Nicola Bolla.

“Every museum's nightmare has come true, even at Palazzo Maffei,” the post said.

“They waited for the staff to leave the room for a striking photo, and then off they went, indifferent to what had happened,” the post added.

The artwork has since been restored.

“We are sharing this episode not only for the record, but to start a real awareness campaign on the value of art and the respect it deserves. A heartfelt thanks goes to the police, our security department and the restorers, whose precious work allowed the work to be recovered,” the museum said.