A painful lesson to be learned from the “professionals” at the Borghese Gallery in Rome for protecting collectibles at home.

Yesterday afternoon, May 4, a tourist fell in front of the work of the 1610 canvas of St. Francis receiving the stigmata, at the Galleria Borghese in Rome during the exhibition “Il sacro e la natura,”dedicated to the Bolognese painter Guido Reni. In losing her balance, the woman accidentally damaged the canvas causing a cut of about 2”.  The reason for the fall of the tourist is not yet clear.  There are those who claim that the lady had a faint and, in an attempt not to tumble to the ground, she tried to cling to the barriers that separate visitors from the works on display, except not being able to avoid bumping into the painting.  Still others argue that the damage to the work was due to a “misstep” by the tourist, who would have tripped over the staging of the exhibition and, risking to fall, involuntarily bumped into the work, damaging it.

According to reports from other visitors, however, the lady would not be the first person to stumble upon the dividers placed at calf height between the works and visitors. In fact, on the day of the inauguration of the exhibition, a journalist fell after tripping between the “barriers”, fortunately without damaging the works on display.

Ripped… and then ripped some more from being leaned on in storage. It looks like Mr. Bean was in change!

Displaying cherished or valuable works of art and collectibles at home or the office should always take into consideration foot traffic, overly active visitors (grandchildren?), can a pet get to the collectible and whether do you live in earthquake country, hurricane country etc.  My personal space experience is that people are often oblivious to the safety of the artwork as they go about the creative process of decorating. I’ve also seen works of art lose significant value when they are damaged. Besides placement considerations in homes and offices, lots of things get damaged in storage as things are leaned on each other without proper protection, FYI.

So, there you go! I just saved you between $1,000 and $10,000 in repair costs (and loss of value?)!!! 

Another suggestion would be the use of an anchoring wax to hold things in place in case of impact or vibrations. On YouTube search for “museum wax, Scott Haskins“

You’re welcome!

Questions? Call Scott M. Haskins or Virginia Panizzon, Art Conservators 805 564 3438 faclofficemanager@gmail.com