VideoWatch moment Taiwan boy trips and punches hole in prized US$1.5 million Italian painting at exhibition

A 12-year-old boy accidentally punched a hole through a US$1.5 million centuries-old Italian oil painting when he tripped and fell into the piece during an exhibition in Taiwan.

The painting, titled Flowers by Italian artist Paolo Porpora, dates back to the 1600s and is part of a collection of 55 artworks on show in the country’s capital.

Video footage released by the organisers shows the boy, who was visiting on Sunday, trip over a platform in front of the artwork and then brace himself against the painting to break his fall.

He then looks around helplessly before walking away.

“The child fell and pressed onto the painting, putting a fist-sized tear in it,” an employee at TST Art of Discovery, which organised "The Face of Leonardo" exhibition in Taipei, said.