Video footage of Sunday's incident released by the exhibition's organizers shows the Taiwanese boy walking past the Renaissance painting holding a drink before catching his foot and stumbling, bracing himself against the artwork to break his fall.

He is then seen looking around helplessly before walking away, leaving a fist-sized tear in the 350-year-old oil painting.

The still life named "Flowers" dates back to the 1600s and is part of a collection of 55 artworks on show painted by or influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.

A self-portrait by da Vinci worth $231 million is also on display at The Face of Leonardo exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park in the country's capital of Taipei, according to its website.

Boy's family won't have to pay for damage

David Sun, head of the exhibition's main organizer TST Art of Discovery, said: "It was such an unusual accident.

"The boy was listening to the guide and wasn't looking where he was going, and tripped and smashed a hole in the artwork."

Sun said the boy and his family had expressed sincere regret, and have not been asked to pay for the restoration, which will be covered by insurance.

"We had an Italian appraiser on hand and immediately contacted the collector," Sun said.

The painting was restored on site Monday after local expert Leo Tsai Shun-jen started emergency restoration, and it was back on display on Tuesday.

Other museum accidents include a British man smashing into a set of 300-year-old Chinese vases in 2006 after tripping over his shoelaces at a museum in Cambridge.

That same year, Las Vegas gaming tycoon Steve Wynn accidentally poked his elbow through the canvas of a Picasso painting he had just sold for $139 million.

mh/jil (AFP, dpa, Reuters)