More than 6 million worth of famous paintings were painted on the eyes! "Mr. Bean's Catastrophe" is staged in a realistic version

In the famous comedy movie "The Great Disaster of Mr. Bean", there is such a classic plot: Mr. Bean, who is the security guard of the art museum, after destroying the famous painting "Whistler's Mother" because of a mistake, as a "remedy", randomly drew a stick figure in the position of the erased character's head, and the effect was breathtaking.

A hilarious classic scene in "The Great Disaster of Mr. Bean"

The original painting that appeared in "The Great Disaster of Mr. Bean"

Unexpectedly, a story similar to this funny plot was staged in real life not long ago - at the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg, Russia, a painting created by the famous Russian painter Anna Leporskaya in the early 1930s, "Three Portraits", was added by a security guard with a ballpoint pen to the face that could not be seen...

According to Artnews (Art News): The painting belongs to the famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which was founded in 1874 and houses more than 150,000 works of art, including almost all of Russia's greatest artists.

The "Three Portraits" was lent to the Yeltsin Center by the Tretyakov Gallery, and the painting was insured for 75 million rubles (about 6.38 million yuan). The painting was created between 1932 and 1934 and features three pastel-colored busts. The face of the portrait that looks like a woman at the front is completely blank, while the two slightly smaller figures on the left and right behind her seem to have faint shadows of facial features.

Somehow, this looming facial features triggered the suspect's "obsessive-compulsive disorder" - he used a ballpoint pen to draw the eyes of the two people clearly, and the two "victims" looked confused and did not understand why they suddenly opened their eyes.

The painting with the added eyes

Original "Three Portraits"

Another dramatic detail in this incident is that as early as last December, the "Three Portraits" was found to be problematic, and was first noticed by the audience visiting the exhibition. However, after receiving the relevant report, the head of the center delayed for two weeks before calling the police, and did not get the attention of the police at the first time, because the suspect's alteration of the painting was not conspicuous, and did not cause obvious damage to the painting.

In the follow-up investigation, the spearhead was initially pointed at a security officer named Dmitry at the center, but was denied by the head of the center, Dozlov, who said that he had resigned before the matter was exposed and was in the hospital at the time.

The painting was then returned to the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, where it is currently undergoing restoration at an estimated cost of 250,000 rubles (about 21,000 yuan). Restoration experts express optimism about restoring the painting: "The alteration is not serious, and it can be completely restored to its original appearance without causing permanent damage to the painting." ”

According to the latest report in the Daily Telegraph, the identity of the suspect has been confirmed as an employee of a private security company, aged 60. He added eyes to the paintings on his first day on duty. "His motives are unclear, but investigators believe he was in a state of intellectual confusion at the time." According to the head of the center, the Yekaterinburg police arrested him last week. Once tried in court, he faces hefty damages and at least three months in prison.

Red Star News reporter | Qiao Xueyang

Edited | Duan Xueying

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