Boy ruins $2 million dollar painting (video)

In a scene straight out of a slapstick comedy, a 12-year-old boy has tripped and accidentally smashed a hole in an AU $2 million dollar painting on display in Taiwan.

Video released by the curators of the Taipei exhibition, 'Face of Leonardo: Images of a Genius', shows the young boy walk past the 350-year-old painting by Italian artist Paolo Porpora, stumble on his foot, fall, and clumsily tear a fist-sized gash in the piece, as he throws his hand out for balance.

He then stands back and stares at the newly-formed tear in the artwork, as the shock descends.

The 200cm still-life painting, titled "Flowers", which depicts a vase spitting out a colourful array of flowers, is worth US $1.5 million (AU $2 million).

However, in good news for the very unlucky lad, one of the organisers told Focus Taiwan they were not pursuing restoration costs from his family and understood it was an accident.

Sun Chi-hsuan said the boy was "very nervous", but said the exhibition curators would be asking their insurers to compensate the owner of the painting, and cover restoration costs.

He also said the valuable artwork would probably be sent back to Italy.