Prosecutors have asked a French court to impose a hefty fine on a self-professed art lover who covered her lips with red lipstick and then kissed the pure white canvass of a $3-million painting.
Defendant Rindy Sam told the court Tuesday she was overcome with emotion when she saw the untitled work by American artist Cy Twombly hanging in a gallery in Avignon. Sam's lawyers have described the kiss as "a pure, intense act of love."
A lawyer for the painting's owner told the court that she interprets such acts as requiring the consent of both parties.
Meanwhile, police in Paris have arrested five people for punching a hole in a valuable masterpiece by French painter Claude Monet.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel said one of the suspects used information gained as part of his job to break into the Orsay Museum Sunday
Museum security cameras show the intruders were drunk when one of them plunged a fist through the painting.
The attack left a 10 centimeter gash in Monet's 19th century work The Bridge at Argenteuil. Museum officials say the canvas can be repaired.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
