You break it, you buy it? The parents of one child are hoping that\u2019s not the case in this situation as their tot managed to damage a painting worth approximately $50 million.<\/p>\n
In a statement to CNN<\/a>, a spokesperson for Rotterdam\u2019s Museum Boijmans van Beuningen confirmed the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cThe painting Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 by Mark Rothko has sustained superficial damage after a child touched the painting when it was on display,\u201d the museum said. \u201cAs a result, small scratches are visible in the unvarnished paint layer in the lower part of the painting.\u201d<\/p>\n Sophie McAloone, the conservation manager at the Fine Art Restoration Company, told BBC<\/a> that \u201cmodern unvarnished\u201d\u00a0such as Rothko\u2019s are \u201cparticularly susceptible to damage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn this case,\u201d she told the outlet, \u201cscratching of the upper paint layers can have a significant impact on the viewing experience of the piece.\u201d<\/p>\n What Happens With the Painting Now?<\/p>\n The museum said that \u201cconservation expertise has been sought in the Netherlands and abroad.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe are currently researching the next steps for the treatment of the painting,\u201d the museum said. <\/p>\n That may be easier said than done, though. Jonny Helm, a marketing manager at the art restoration service Plowden & Smith,\u00a0told BBC that \u201cRothko\u2019s mixture of pigments and resins and glues were quite complex,\u201d which will make restoration all the more difficult.<\/p>\n Despite that, the museum said that they \u201cexpect that the work will be able to be shown again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, though, the painting<\/a> has been removed from the museum\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n The museum declined to state how much the artwork is worth. However, one Rothko painting fetched $86.9 million, and several others went for north of $50 million. <\/p>\n According to Artnet<\/a>, Dutch collector Bert Kreuk previously stated that the piece was valued around $50 million.<\/p>\n