Nuremberg museum horrified after woman fills in artwork resembling crossword puzzle
The Neues Museum in Nuremberg has filed a criminal complaint after the elderly woman wrote on the artwork with a ballpoint pen.
The 1965 piece by Arthur Koepcke, titled "Reading-work-piece," includes the phrase "Insert Words" and features a partially filled-in crossword puzzle. After it became known that she had added letters to the puzzle, the woman explained to the museum that she was simply following directions.
Museum spokesperson Eva Martin confirmed the story to the press on Thursday. "The artist had already filled in some of the boxes," Martin said, before adding that the elderly woman had taken the opportunity to fill in some of those he had left blank.
The spokesperson went on to say that it should be clear to all museum patrons that under no circumstances could people write on the artwork. "We can't put corresponding labels on every piece of artwork," Martin said.
No malicious intent
http://www.dw.com/en/nuremberg-museum-horrified-after-woman-fills-in-artwork-resembling-crossword-puzzle/a-19400502
= new reply since forum marked as read
"Woman Who Ruined Fresco Of Jesus Now Wants To Be Paid"
Cecilia Giménez, the Spanish woman who really messed up when she tried to restore a 19th-century fresco of Jesus, now wants a piece of the action from the 2,000 or so euros ($2,600) her church has collected from tourists coming to see the ruined artwork.
Spain's El Correo reports, according to Gawker's translation, that the 80+-year-old Giménez has hired lawyers to make her case. A court battle is expected. Ars Technica says the church has also lawyered up.
As Eyder wrote last month, by the time Giménez was done with her attempt at restoration, the image was being likened to a werewolf. But news reports in recent weeks also showed that her work has some fans — such as the online Beast-Jesus Restoration Society — and that it is drawing tourists to the Santuario de Misericordia church in Borja.
So now, it appears, we're at the stage of the story where the inevitable legal actions begin.
SNIP
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/09/20/161466361/woman-who-ruined-fresco-of-jesus-now-wants-to-be-paid
Now I'm feeling a bit embarrassed. 
in a room full of priceless oil paintings, there was one painting in particular - it was just gorgeous, and you couldn't miss it because it was huge and placed on the wall to the left of the doorway. I forget the artist, but he was an impressionist master whose name we would all know, although this work is not considered too special (for whatever reason).
Well, whaddaya know, but I was on my way out, and I passed a woman who seemed to be inspecting the painting closely, and as I passed her, I saw that she was touching and rubbing the paint with her fingers, as if to get an actual physical feel as to the paint and its texture.
I was shocked and aghast! 
The very idea of touching a work of art intended to be enjoyed by others who appreciate beautiful works, families, children ... Just how fucking selfish. 
