The Drunken Selfie: Student Snaps Off Leg Of 19th Century Work In Vain Effort To Capture a Selfie Shot

We previously discussed cases of tourists demanding art in efforts to get memorable photographs, including a recent incident involving an American tourist. We now have an even more egregious incident where a tourist actually climbed on the leg of an early 19th Century statue entitled “The Drunken Satyr” to take a selfie and caused the entire leg to snap off.

The incident occurred at the famed Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan. A “student” was captured on security cameras climbing on to the statue for the selfie. The statue shows a satyr drunkenly sleeping. It is fortunately a 19th-century of the original that was found in Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo around 400 years ago. The original is shown above.

The question is how to punish a student for such an outrage. Expulsion is an obvious choice but it is doubtful that most students can afford the repair of such an item. Moreover, the pictures show shattered remains of the leg — raising a question about the ability to restore the leg as opposed to fabricating a new leg.

Do you think such acts should result in criminal charges for a student or tourist? Would such a prosecution serve a real purpose or would a long-lasting restitution penalty with garnishment be sufficient?