Aad Hoogendoorn/Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
The child was injured by American artist Mark Rothco at a museum in Rotterdam, a painting worth millions of pounds.
Museum spokesman Boiman’s van Biuningen said he was considering the “next step” for treatment of Rothco’s grey, maroon orange.
A museum spokesperson told Dutch media outlet Algemeen Dagblad (AD) last week that the damage occurred during a “unprotected moment.”
A museum spokesperson told the BBC the damage was “superficial,” adding that “minor scratches are visible in the dirt paint layer at the bottom of the painting.”
According to newspaper ads, abstract paintings are estimated to be worth up to 50 million euros (£42.5 million).
“Conservation expertise is required in the Netherlands and overseas. We are currently studying the next steps to handling painting,” a museum spokesman told the BBC.
“We expect this work to be visible again in the future,” they added.
Sophie McAloone, protection manager at Fine Art Restoration Company, is a member of Rothko’s Gray, Orange, No. He said that “modern, uncomfortable” paintings like the 8 are “particularly vulnerable to damage.”
This is because “the combination of complex modern materials, lack of traditional coating layers and the strength of flat color fields allows even areas with minimal damage to be instantly perceived,” she said.
“In this case, scratches on the top paint layer can have a significant impact on the viewing experience of the piece,” McAloone said.
Rothko’s paintings were hanging at the museum’s depot as part of an exhibition showing a selection of “public favourites” from the gallery’s collection.
Jonny Helm, marketing manager for Art Restoration Service Plowden & Smith, said the incident has affected British institutions such as V&A East and the British Museum, and is considering “opening exhibits of obscure things in the archive.”
“How will this event affect other British institutions that have similar archives?” Helm said.
Restoring Rothko’s paintings is a difficult task, Helm said, as “the mixture of Rothko’s pigments, resins and adhesives was very complicated.”
He said the fact that the painting means it is “open to the environment” is not enhanced – would pose even more challenges for parents.
Parents working on painting recovery may have probably documented the extent of damage to Rothko’s painting “historical, successful treatment.”
“Rothko’s work seems to have terrible luck. This isn’t the first damaged Rothko we’ve heard,” Helm said.
Rothko’s 1958 work, Black on Maroon, was deliberately destroyed by Urodimierz Umaniek at the Tate Modern Gallery in London in October 2012.
Umaniec was sent to prison for two years, after which he apologised for his actions.
During his trial, he said he indicted lawyer Gregor McKinley. He said the cost of repairs for the work would be around £200,000. It took 18 months to restore the painting.
Getty Images
Mark Rothko’s 1958 painting returned to display 18 months after it was destroyed
Rachel Myrtle, director of Specie and Fine Arts at insurance company AON, said Fine Art Insurance Policy usually covers “all risks related to physical loss and artwork damage, including incidental damages by children and visitors, despite the specific exclusions.”
She said that when the artwork was damaged, the gallery insurance company would appoint a specialized fine art loss adjuster to visit the museum.
Loss control devices usually “see the artwork damage, examine CCTV footage to determine the exact cause of the loss, and evaluate maintenance options,” Myrtle said.
The museum did not comment on who was responsible for the damages to the 1960 painting, which the gallery reportedly acquired in the 1970s.
The museum’s Boijmans Van Beuningen charges visitors who have damaged the artwork previously on display.
In 2011, the museum asked unsuspecting tourists to step into the artwork on Wim T. Schippers’ peanut butter floors, known as Pindakaasvloer.
Sharon Cohen, a museum spokesman at the time, was quoted by AD, saying, “It’s a normal procedure for people to pay if they undermine art.”
Rothko’s paintings are described by the museum as examples of field painting in color. This is a term used to describe art, characterized by large, flat, solid blocks spread across the canvas.
Rothko’s Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8 Paintings is one of several works of contemporary art that have been damaged in the Netherlands in recent years.
In November 2024, multiple screen prints by American pop artist Andy Warhol were damaged by a burglar during an attempted robbery at an MPV art gallery in the town of Oystewik.
In another incident, Dutch Town Hall, during renovations last year, accidentally admitted 46 artworks as “most likely” including the Andy Warhol version of the former Dutch Queen.
Museums have different policies when dealing with child damage.
Last August, a 4-year-old boy accidentally smashed a 3,500-year-old bottle into pieces at the Hecht Museum in Israel.
At the time, Lich Lassillo, a worker at the Hecht Museum, told the BBC that the museum would not handle the incident “at severity” because “the bottle was accidentally damaged by a young child.”
The family was invited to the exhibition with his family for an organized tour shortly after the incident occurred.
