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The protesters belong to the Just Stop Oil organization and were detained by the local police. The event took place at the National Gallery in London. The two activists were accused of malicious damage and aggravated trespassing.
Two tomato cans were thrown into the famous painting Sunflowers by the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. This was the protest led by two activists from the Just Stop Oil group.
The room was immediately closed and the visitors evicted from the site. Both protesters were detained by local police.
“What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Is it worth more than justice?” shouted one of the protesters, who was later identified as Phoebe Plummer, 21.
The paint was not damaged. “The frame has ‘minor damage’ but the painting is ‘intact’,” the National Gallery said.
“Which concerns us more, the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of the oil crisis,” she exclaimed as she and her partner crouched with his hands glued to the wall.
The authorities quickly arrived at the scene, where they arrested both young women, who were later charged with criminal damages and aggravated trespassing.
This is the second attack on a work of art reported this week. On October 9, activists glued their hand to a Pablo Picasso painting exhibited in Australia to draw attention to the climate crisis.
Works vandalized in the name of a cause
This is not the first famous work that stars in an event of this magnitude.
This year, in May, a visitor threw a cake at La Gioconda, Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece and one of the main attractions of the Louvre in Paris. The fact did not have major consequences, since the painting has an armored glass about six decades ago.
It was the object of strong attacks in the years 1956, 1974 and 2009. The protests were varied and ranged from criticism of the museum’s policies, which made it difficult for disabled people to access the installation, to political claims.
The Night Watch, by Rembrandt, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, by Da Vinci; Guernica, by Picasso, among many other creations, have also suffered attacks.
with EFE
