Credit: Palazzo Maffei

CCTV footage shows the couple taking turns posing for photos with the artwork at the Palazzo Maffei in Verona, Italy before the man accidentally sits on and breaks it.

The work by Italian artist Nicola Bolla is a recreation of a chair from a Van Gogh painting, decorated with Swarovski crystals.

Museum director Vanessa Carlon told The New York Times that it was not a “brilliant thought to sit on an artwork”, but that the museum was most offended that the tourists fled without an apology.

The museum notified police about the incident but did not say whether they were seeking a prosecution.

An apology from the pair, who have yet to be identified, would be a “noble gesture”, Ms Carlon said.

After several weeks of work, the chair has now been repaired and is again on display – behind plexiglass.