A six-year-old boy damaged a work by Belgian painter René Magritte in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The child pierced the painting by throwing a pine cone at it.
Journalist at HLN
Source: The Times of Israel
According to Israeli media, the incident took place several weeks ago. The six-year-old boy had brought a pine cone from the museum’s garden during a family visit. When the child threw it around, the pine cone landed against ‘The Castle in the Pyrenees’, a well-known work by Magritte.
According to museum staff, the painting was damaged in a split second, before the guard present realized what was happening. The work is currently being restored. According to the museum, that process can take weeks. It is not known whether the boy’s family will have to pay a fine.
Magritte’s surreal painting depicts a large rock with a castle on top, against a blue sky above a turbulent sea. The work has hung in the Israel Museum since 1985.