Art Lover Leaves Mark on $2M Blank Canvas

PARIS — An art lover was charged with criminal damage in France yesterday after kissing a $2 million painting while wearing glossy red lipstick.

Sam Rindy, 35, said she had been "overcome with passion" for the immaculate white, untitled canvas by the American artist Cy Twombly.

"I found the painting even more beautiful," Ms. Rindy, a Cambodian-born Frenchwoman, said. "A red stain remained on the canvas — this red stain is testimony to this moment, to the power of art."

The painting was part of a collection entitled "Blooming" in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Avignon. Although Ms. Rindy, herself an artist, left the building following the incident, staff alerted police, and she was quickly caught.

After being interviewed by police, she was released on bail. She will appear in court in Avignon next month charged with "damage to a work of art."