BRESCIA: VISITOR TRIPS AND TEARS 16TH-CENTURY MORETTO PAINTING

In an unfortunate incident at the Renaissance exhibition in the Santa Giulia complex in Brescia, Italy, a visitor tripped and inadvertently tore an oil on canvas painting by Moretto. The artwork, a processional banner from the 1500s, was displayed at the entrance of one of the sections and was not protected by glass.

Details of the Incident

The accident occurred yesterday, as reported by the newspaper Bresciaoggi. The damaged piece is a two-sided banner, originally carried in processions. One side depicts two unidentified saints, while the other shows the Virgin Mary with two disciplini (devotees of the Confraternity of the Madonna del Carmine) at her feet. Alessandro Bonvicino, known as Il Moretto, painted it between 1522 and 1524.

The damage inflicted by the visitor is described as significant, estimated to be worth thousands of euros. The painting had been away from Brescia for 360 years, first in Rome and then in Possagno (Treviso) after being acquired by Antonio Canova. It had only recently returned to Brescia for the exhibition "The Renaissance in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino, Savoldo. 1512-1552," currently on display at Santa Giulia.