Pinakothek der Moderne in Germany Fires Employee for Hanging Own Painting in Gallery

In Munich, Germany, one of Europe's largest museums of contemporary art, the Pinakothek, has fired a member of its technical service after it was discovered that he had hung one of his own paintings in the museum's gallery, SuedDeutsche reports.

The 51-year-old man brought his work to the exhibition at Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne "in the hope of achieving an artistic breakthrough".

Due to his position at the museum, the man had access to the gallery space after hours and did not attract the attention of security when he installed his 60cm by 120cm work in the aisle.

The incident, which took place on 23 February, was reported only on Monday. Although it is unclear how long the painting remained on display, a Pinakothek spokesperson said its "window of glory" was likely to be short: "Curators notice something like this immediately."

The police are currently investigating a relatively minor offence: the artist drilled two holes in the gallery wall to hang the painting, which has led to a criminal case against him for intentional damage to property.

No details were provided about the subject matter or style of the painting. The Pinakothek said it had terminated the contract of a member of its technical staff and banned him from its premises.

Located in Munich's Kunstverein, the Pinakothek der Moderne was reopened in 2022 after a seven-year closure for construction work. Its permanent collection, divided into art, architecture, design and works on paper from the 20th and 21st centuries, comprises more than 20,000 works, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann and Paul Klee.

As The Gaze previously wrote, the Picasso Museum in Paris is opening an exhibition of works by Françoise Giglio, who was Pablo Picasso's partner and mother of his children, but despite this, Picasso tried to destroy her career after their breakup.