Italian media have said that a painting accidentally damaged by a boy at an exhibition in Taipei is by artist Mario Nuzzi, not Paolo Porpora as originally attributed by the exhibition’s organizer.
The news of the Taiwanese boy tripping in an exhibition and punching a hole through an Italian painting has received international attention. The organizer said that the damaged painting was a 17th-century work by Paolo Porpora called Flowers. The organizer said the painting was worth US$1.5 million. The damaged work of art has since been repaired and put back on display.
However, according to Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, the damaged painting is in fact the work of Italian artist Mario Nuzzi, and is worth around 30,000 euros, which is about US$34,000.
The exhibition organizer in Taipei has yet to explain why they wrongly attributed the painting to Paolo Porpora.