Boy accidentally punches hole in $1.5 million painting in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Talk about an expensive 'oops!' A 12-year-old boy left a fist-sized hole in a 350-year-old piece of art on exhibit in Taiwan.

The boy tripped over a rope barrier at an art exhibit and accidentally punched a hole in a $1.5 million painting.

Footage by the organizers of Taipei's "The Face of Leonardo: Images of a Genius" exhibition showed the boy, who is holding a drink, trip and catch his balance by pushing against a 17th-century oil on canvas painting

Sun Chi-hsuan, the head of TST Art of Discovery Company said, "The boy's hand made contact with the artwork and left a hole the size of a fist."

The painting by Paolo Porpora, titled "Flowers," is about 350 years old and on loan from Italy.

Museum administrators are not asking the boy and his family to pay for the damage. Instead, they will ask the insurance company to cover restoration costs and compensate the painting's owner.