Taiwan 'punch' painting back on display but Italian media claim it's not 17th century masterpiece and is only worth US$34,000

A painting damaged by a 12-year-old boy at an art exhibition in Taipei is back on display after undergoing repair work by a restorer, but questions have been raised over whether the piece is genuinely a US$1.5-million work by a 17th-century Italian artist.

The picture was damaged on Sunday when the boy stumbled in front of the picture and accidentally punched a whole through the bottom of it as he tried to regain his balance.

The painting was Flowers by the artist Paolo Porpora, but Taiwan’s Central News Agency said media in Italy had suggested the work was by another 17th-century artist, Mario Nuzzi, and that the work was worth the equivalent of US$34,500.

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The claim was made by La Repubblica newspaper and the news website Il Post.

Andrea Rossi, the curator of the Taipei exhibition “The Face of Leonardo, Images of a Genius”, however, stood by the authenticity of the painting.

He said any confusion originated from mislabeling of the work by an auction house a few years ago, the Central News Agency reported.