An employee of the Pinakothek der Moderne art museum in Munich, Germany, reportedly hung up his own paintings next to works by Pablo Picasso or Franz Marc without asking anyone for permission.

The 51-year-old unnamed man was reportedly working in the museum technical department, which gave him access to the premises outside of visiting hours. He was thus able to casually drill holes into an empty wall and hang up his own paintings next to those of acclaimed painters from all over the world. It is unclear how long the paintings were up for between someone noticed that they weren’t supposed to be there, but according to a museum spokesperson, they couldn’t have been up for too long because “supervisors usually notice something like that immediately”. As for the man’s motivation, one can only assume that he believed showing his work in the museum would lead to future opportunities.

Photo: Dannie Jing/Unsplash

The unnamed man, who allegedly describes himself as a freelance artist, has now landed in hot water with the police because by drilling holes into a wall without permission, he technically became guilty of property damage. He is unlikely to suffer too harsh a punishment, but he has reportedly already lost his job at the museum and has also been banned from the premises.

German police are still investigating the incident. No details about the man’s artworks, their style, or overall quality have been revealed so far.

Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne Museum is famous for modernist treasures by artists like Pablo Picasso, Franz Marc, and Oskar Schlemmer, among many others, so one can’t blame the freelance artist for wanting to be in their company, even for a few days.