‘Bored’ Guardian Damages Million Dollar Painting by Drawing Eyes on It

A security guard damaged the painting by Anna Leporskaya, called ‘Three Figures’ (1932 – 1934), which was valued at 75 million rubles (one million dollars) and was in the exhibition “The world as non-objectivity . The birth of a new art’”, in Russia.

What was the reason this man destroyed the painting? He was just bored and he decided draw eyes to the portrait.

LOOK: With coats and backpacks ready to flee, eastern Ukraine prepares for a possible Russian attack

Fortunately, the trace was not very deep and it can be rebuilt, but it will not be cheap.

What happened?

The events occurred at the BN Yeltsin Presidential Center in Yekaterinburg.

• Russia begins massive military exercises in Belarus in the midst of the crisis with Ukraine
• The US warns that Russian forces continue to arrive at the border with Ukraine: “There are more than 100,000 troops”
• Russian officials acknowledge that the invasion of Ukraine is more difficult and costly than it seems

On December 7, 2021, two visitors to the exhibition noticed the strokes in Leporskaya’s work that evidently did not correspond to the harmony of the original painting, as reported by the Russian outlet ‘The Art Newspaper Russia’.

The work was taken to inspection, where it was confirmed that it had not suffered serious damage and that it could be repaired without the damage being noticed in the paint.

However, the repair was valued at 250 thousand rubles, about 3,000 dollars.

Russian authorities initially refused to launch an investigation.

”The damage caused is estimated at about 200,000 rubles, which is insignificant… In this case, there is no evidence of a crime according to art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since the image has not lost its properties“was stipulated in a resolution issued by the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation of the city, according to ‘The Art Newspaper Russia’.

Guilty

After the declarations of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture sent a complaint to the Office of the Attorney General of Russia in order to initiate an investigation into the damage to the painting.

The face of the person responsible could not be seen in the security cameras, so the case could not be concluded at that time.

Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the security guard who had drawn the drawing admitted to being responsible for the damage.

He simply stated that “he was bored on his first day of work” and that is why he decided to paint small eyes on the portrait, as explained by the ‘Daily Mail’ medium.

The worker’s identity has not been revealed for security reasons. Authorities said it had been fired immediately after it became known that he was responsible.

Artwork by Anna Leporskaya before it was damaged. (Photo: The Art Newspaper Russia).

The Russian police affirmed that they will open an investigation for vandalism, a crime that must be paid with 74 million rubles (US$987,900) and a year of correctional work.

Additionally, the security company in which the guard worked declared that it will respond financially for the restoration of the work, as explained by ‘Daily Mail’.

__________________________________

• They kill el Koki, one of the most wanted and dangerous criminals in Venezuela
• The Playboy bunny who married an 89-year-old rich man and was left without an inheritance
• Who was the Koki, the dangerous criminal boss of Cota 905 who was shot down by the Venezuelan police
• Simon Leviev, the “Tinder scammer” accused of stealing millions from several women he met on the dating app
• Hunting Pablo Escobar’s hippos, a “necessary option” to control his invasion in Colombia
• Unusual: they find the body of an old Italian woman on a chair two years after her death

Source: Elcomercio