(UPI) A work of art was rescued from the trash at a Dutch museum after being mistaken for what it depicts: a pair of abandoned beer cans.

All The Good Times We Spent Together, a 1988 piece by French artist Alexandre Lavet, appears at first glance to be a pair of empty beer cans abandoned on the floor.

"However, a closer look reveals that these dented cans were meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, with each detail painstakingly replicated," the LAM museum in Lisse said in a news release.

The museum said Lavet's piece was on display in the facility's glass elevator shaft, where they were mistaken for actual litter by an elevator technician.

"The theme of our collection is food and consumption," said Sietske van Zanten, the museum's director. Our art encourages visitors to see everyday objects in a new light. By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and keep visitors on their toes.

Museum employees who noticed the artwork was missing launched a search and managed to rescue the intact cans from a trash bin that was about to be thrown out.

Van Zanten said the technician who threw the art away was filling in for the museum's usual elevator technician, who is well-acquainted with the museum's collection.

"He was just doing his job in good faith," van Zanten said. In a way, it's a testament to the effectiveness of Alexandre Lavet's art.

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