Sometimes, to display your art in one of Europe’s finest museums, you just need to hang it there yourself.
On Monday, Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne reported a sort of reverse heist: While it was closed to the public, an employee hung one of his own paintings among the museum’s modern art collection.
The employee, aged 51, was helping to install an architectural exhibit on philanthropy which opened recently when it detoured to the modern art floor to make the addition, according to the museum.
“He was carrying tools, which is why he went completely unnoticed,” explained Tine Nehler, informed of the museum. “As a technician, he was able to travel to all areas of the building after hours. »
Unfortunately for the worker’s budding artistic career, the ruse was discovered and the painting was removed from the wall. It is not known how long the painting had remained unnoticed.
The museum said the work measured approximately 45 inches wide and 25 inches long, but it did not specify what it depicted or provide details about the worker’s artistic background.
The museum and the employee have agreed to part ways, the museum said. The man, a well-respected employee whom the museum did not identify, was also barred from visiting his former workplace, the museum added.
“You can’t really have a person like that guarding the high-security wing,” Ms. Nehler said.
Adding to the aspiring artist’s troubles, police said Wednesday they were investigating him for property damage — for drilling two small holes in the museum wall to hang his painting.
The Pinakothek der Moderne has one of the largest art collections in Germany, with more than 20,000 works of art, including works by leading artists like Max Beckmann and Pablo Picasso. Besides the architecture and modern art sections, it is known for its large modern design section.
The Munich incident discovered this week follows a similar discovery in October at a museum in the western city of Bonn, where someone had hung their own artwork in an exhibition about identity and immigration. It was only when this exhibition was dismantled that the painting was noticed.
Unlike what happened this week, the museum, the Bundeskunsthalle, published a photo of the painting on its Instagram feedidentified the artist as Danai Emmanouilidis and helped announce the sale of the work.
The work, titled “Georgia,” sold for just over $4,000, which the artist donated to charity.
