A SOUTH African magistrate ordered an art restorer to pay out R20_000 on Thursday after an oil painting of a tavern scene by 17th century Dutch master Adriaen Van Ostade was returned to its owner with a beard added to a face. The painting had also gained a traditional South African touch – a black pot hanging over a fireplace, where previously there had been nothing, said the painting’s owner, Michael Abronivici, of Johannesburg. He claimed damages of R33_000 rand from the restorer, Judith Fitzgerald, charging too that a great deal of the painting’s original colour had been removed, apparently by over-cleaning and the use of over-strength solvent. – AFP