Man Sentenced to Prison for Punching Hole in £10 Million Monet Painting
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In what is hopefully the epilogue to an incident that happened two years ago, a man has been sentenced to five years in prison for punching a hole in a painting by famed French impressionist artist Claude Monet. Displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland, the £10 million piece titled Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat was attacked by the 49-year-old man when he drove his fist through the left side of the painting. He initially explained his motive as “getting back at the state” but changed his story during the trial, saying that it happened when he felt faint and fell into the artwork. After reviewing CCTV footage, it was decided that it indeed was an intentional attack. The man will also be banned from visiting any galleries for 15 months after his jail sentence.
