Written in LIFESTYLE he 4/5/2025 · 20:59 hs
EFE.- A child damaged, last Monday, a picture of the American artist Mark Rothko exhibited at the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Róterdam, Netherlandsvalued in 50 million eurosaccording to the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD).
As explained on Wednesday museum sources EFEthat “the work suffered damage after the child touched it while exposed, which caused” small scratches in the paint layer without varnishing the bottom of the painting. “
In addition, they explained that “they are currently looking for conservation experts” in the Netherlands And the foreigner while the steps are being investigated to carry out the treatment of the table, so restoration work has not yet begun.
“We hope that the work can be exposed again in the future,” they said.
He Boijmans Van Beuningen He did not provide information on the possible costs associated with the conservation of the work and said that he will not disseminate images of the damage, the incident occurred in “a moment of carelessness” according to the spokesman of the museum to the local station RTV RinjinMond.
The abstract work It was acquired by Boijmans in 1970 and is one of Rothko’s two paintings that are part of the Dutch collections of the museum and is one of its most valuable pieces, with an estimated value of between 40 and 50 million euros.
Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
He is one of the greatest representatives of abstract expressionism, he stood out for his painting in color fields and dedicated his career to expressing universal emotions, such as ecstasy or tragedy.
The Responsible for Conservation of the Fine Art Restorration Company, Sophie McAloonehe pointed out in statements to the BBC That the “modern paintings without varnish”, such as their “Gray, Orange on Maroon, No. 8” (Gray, orange on Garnet, Nº8), are “especially susceptible to damage.”
He indicated that this is due to “a combination of its complex modern materials, the lack of a layer of traditional varnish and the intensity of flat colored fields, which make even the smallest damage of damage perceptible instantly.”
“In this case, the scratch of the upper paint layers can have a significant impact on the visual experience of the work,” said Mcaloone.
In addition, according to some experts, restoring a work by this artist is a difficult job because “the mixture of Rothko pigments, resins and tails was quite complex”, and to the fact that the picture is not varnished.
Interestingly, it is not the first time that an artist’s picture suffers an incident, since in 2012 Rothko’s work of 1958 “black on garnet” was damaged in an act of vandalism of Wlodzimierz contract in the Tate Modern Gallery of London.
The conservatives were repairing the picture and the person in charge was sentenced to two years in prison, although later apologized for their actions.
