In reporting the tearing of Picasso's The Actor by a "student" attending an "art class" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Met seems to be falling all over itself to excuse the accident. The six inch vertical tear is small by comparison to the overall "unusually large" size of the canvas, the tear doesn't affect the "focal point of the composition," and besides, the museum has about 250 works by Picasso in its possession.
So, I say, why bother fixing it at all? Why not just crop the painting? Let's face it, if you've ever been to The Met you know it's frightfully over stuffed with Art, Important Art. It can be quite overwhelming. Perhaps if they just cropped the works people would be able to breathe a bit better in there.
To wit: Picasso repaired
Picasso cropped
See what I mean? Much easier on the eyes. So much less stray information.
