Claude Monet “La Pont d'Argenteuil” / drunken fist

(In 2007, one of a group of “drunken intruders” punched a hole in this work while it was on view at the Orsay Museum in Paris. The break-in occurred as the city held its annual “all-night festival,” which brings thousands of people into the streets for music, sidewalk exhibits, and other activities. The intruders broke into the museum in the early hours of the morning and left when, upon inflicting the damage, alarms began to sound. At a later press conference, French Culture Minister Christine Albanel openly wondered how the intruders were able to enter the museum so easily, through what she said must have been a “fragile” door. She also wondered how they were able to force their way out through a different door – one that was supposed to be held firmly shut by bolts. While no arrests were made, the work was able to be restored.)