A child damaged a painting worth around 50 million euros by American artist Mark Rothko kept in a museum in Rotterdam.

A spokesperson for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen said, the BBC reports, that the institute is considering the next steps for the treatment of the painting, titled “Grey, Orange on Brown, No. 8”.

The damage occurred in a "moment of carelessness," a museum spokesperson told Dutch news agency Algemeen Dagblad.

"Small scratches are visible on the unvarnished paint layer at the bottom of the painting . Conservation experts in the Netherlands and abroad have been consulted. We are currently evaluating the next steps for the treatment of the painting and - the spokesperson added - we expect that the work can be exhibited again in the future."

Rothko’s painting was on display in a publicly accessible storage facility adjacent to the main museum, as part of an exhibition showcasing a selection of works from the gallery’s collection. “Restoring a Rothko painting is a difficult task,” explains Jonny Helm , marketing manager for art restoration service Plowden & Smith, because “Rothko’s mixture of pigments, resins and glues was quite complex.”

(Online Union)

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