Pencils forbidden in Brussels' Magritte Museum

Visitors to the Magritte Museum, located in the heart of Brussels, can expect to be checked for possession of pencils upon entry. La Libre Belgique calls it "Belgian surrealism" and says the measure is to do with funding cuts to Brussels arts and cultural organisations.

"We simply do not have enough guards to keep an eye on visitors in every room and at all times. We don't allow pencils in the museum because they can be used to damage paintings," the museum guards explained.

The measure came to light when the blog consoloisirs.be wrote about a visitor to the museum who was furious after being requested to stop writing in her notebook. The guard told her it was “forbidden to write in the museum". She is still waiting for a refund.

In addition to budgetary restrictions, the ban on pencils is about protecting the works of art from plagiarism, reports La Libre.