Russian painting worth Rs 7.5 crore vandalised by 'bored' security guard; netizens react

A security guard in Russia was fired from an art gallery for an unbelievable reason. The cause for his dismissal - on his first day at the job, he allegedly took a ballpoint pen and drew eyes on two of the three faceless figures in the artwork Three Figures because he was “bored”.

The incident took place at Yekaterinburg city’s Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center. The abstract painting by artist Anna Leporskaya is reportedly valued at Rs 7.5 crore.

The guard is believed to have defaced the painting on 7 December last year, as per reports. But he was sacked this week, after he was identified as the vandal, as per a report in The Metro. The guard is believed to be in his 60s and his name has not been revealed by the private security company who employed him.

The matter came to light, after two visitors spotted the alterations in the painting and reported it to an employee of the art gallery. The painting was displayed at the gallery as part of an exhibition titled “The World as Non-Objectivity. The Birth of a New Art”. According to reports, the police started an investigation into the matter last week.

If convicted, the guard faces a hefty fine as well as a one-year correctional labour sentence. According to a report in The Guardian, the painting has been sent for restoration.

Restoring the artwork to its original state will reportedly cost 250,000 roubles or Rs 2.5 lakh. The curator of the exhibition, Anna Reshetkina, told the media outlet that the guard had not put too much pressure on the painting while drawing the eyes, meaning that it could be restored by experts without long-term damage.

Reshetkina also stated that the gallery administration believes that the guard acted due to “some kind of a lapse in sanity.”

The news led to a variety of reactions from social media users. Many found the incident hilarious. Others were horrified to learn of the vandalism of the painting.

Many people were surprised to learn about the cost of the restoration.

Many social media users called for the guard to be arrested for defiling the artwork.

What are your thoughts about the incident?