This 18th Century Statue Got Knocked Over By A Brazilian Tourist Who Was Taking A Photo

If you are into art and history, visiting a museum is always a pleasant experience. It allows you to enjoy and appreciate the artists and culture from many years ago. It’s pretty much like riding a time machine or something!

Unless, of course, you are too busy taking pictures that you forget to focus on all the beauty surrounding you.

Case in point, a Brazilian tourist accidentally knocked over an 18th century Saint Michael statue while trying to take a photo of something.

This recently happened at the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon during their free-entrance Sunday. The tourist was backing off when he unintentionally knocked the sculpture down, shattering it to pieces.

While taking a photo, a Brazilian tourist accidentally knocked over this 18th century sculpture of Saint Michael.

Nuno Miguel Rodrigues was on the museum when the shocking incident took place. He took a photo of the destroyed sculpture and posted it on Facebook. It immediately went viral. He captioned the heartbreaking image:

“It’s the price to be paid for free entrances on the first Sunday of every month.”

Museum staff assures that the statue can still be restored, although it would take a lengthy process.

Jose Alberto Seabra Carvalho, deputy director of the museum, said:

“I’ve been working in the museum for many years and cannot recall anything similar happening.”

As of this writing, investigations are being conducted and the identity of the Brazilian tourist is still being kept confidential. Meanwhile, the staff of the museum said that restoration of the smashed sculpture is possible, although it would take a lengthy, difficult process.