1. Leonardo Da Vinci Shot In The National Gallery
It would seem that sadly art is often used to make a statement at the expense of the publics enjoyment of it – and at times even its safety. In July 1987, a man named Robert Cambridge walked into the National Gallery in London with a sawn-off shotgun concealed under his coat. The extreme art vandal then shot the work ‘The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist’ by Leonardo da Vinci. The crazed perpetrator shot at the masterpiece from a distance of about 2 metres, but the pellets did not pass through the protective glass, but instead shattered it, causing the splinters to penetrate the work resulting in significant damage. Later Cambridge told the police that he wanted to express his disgust with “political, social and economic conditions in Britain” – and was promptly placed in a mental institution. Thankfully no one was hurt by the actions of this extreme art vandal, but the restoration of the masterpiece took more than a year to complete.