At Pinakothek der Moderne museum in Munich, Germany, a technician with dreams of becoming an artist took the spotlight for a full eight hours. The museum made headlines after confirming that they have dismissed a member of their services team. It was discovered that he had secretly hung one of his own paintings in a section of the gallery dedicated to modern and contemporary art, alongside the works of renowned artists for an entire day. According to a report by German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, the 51-year-old man had smuggled his artwork into the museum as he had access to the gallery during non-working hours, which went unnoticed by security and he sneakily installed his work on an empty white wall. The painting was discovered by staff shortly after the museum was opened and decided to leave it on display until closing time.
Alongside losing his job, the individual was permanently banned from the gallery. Following the unauthorised artwork display, the police are now investigating the minor offense of property damage. Reportedly, the technician had drilled two holes in an empty wall to hang his painting, which measured 60 by 120 cm and the museum believes the incident wasn’t too serious.
Tine Nehler, a museum spokesperson, said, “He was carrying tools, that’s why he went totally unnoticed. As a technician, he was able to move around all areas of the building outside of opening hours. You can’t really have a person like that guarding the high-security wing.”
The Munich Police’s chief superintendent, Christian Drexler explained that they have initiated criminal charges related to the incident and the public prosecutor’s office will decide further action. The damage happened because the painting was attached to an exhibition wall with two screws. The Munich criminal investigation department is now investigating this property damage caused by the drilled holes. The estimated total damage is around €100 (approximately Rs 8000), while the painting has been removed and confiscated by the officials. Additionally, the man later confessed his actions to the museum via email, stating that, as a freelance artist, he had hung his own picture without authorisation.
The Pinakothek der Moderne has one of Germany’s largest art collections, featuring works by renowned artists such as Max Beckmann, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse.
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