Three-hundred-year-old painting in the Uffizi damaged after visitor trips while trying to ‘make a meme’

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is considering imposing restrictions on visitor behaviour after the incident, which follows a similar mishap earlier this month

The portrait, center, before it was damaged.

Photograph: Uffizi

Dee Jefferson

Tue 24 Jun 2025 18.42 CEST

A 300-year-old painting in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery has allegedly been damaged after a visitor tripped while posing for a photo with the artwork.

The Uffizi said the painting, a portrait of Tuscan prince Ferdinando de’ Medici painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani in 1712, was damaged after a visitor fell backwards while attempting to “make a meme” in front of it by mimicking the prince’s pose.

Security camera footage circulated by Italian media over the weekend showed a visitor leaning back and falling into the painting, with a closeup revealing a tear in the canvas A 300-year-old painting in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery has allegedly been damaged after a visitor tripped while posing for a photo with the artwork.

More: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jun/24/300-year-old-painting-in-the-uffizi-damaged-after-visitor-trips-while-trying-to-make-a-meme-ntwnfb