ZTwo environmental activists showered painter Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece “Sunflowers” with tomato soup in London. The two young women poured two cans of Heinz tomato soup over the world-famous painting, which is estimated to be worth over $84 million (86 million euros), at the National Gallery in London this Friday, according to environmental group Just Stop Oil.
According to the information, the action was linked to a demand for the British government to immediately stop all new oil and gas projects. Videos in online networks also showed the action. It was initially unclear whether the painting in the museum on Trafalgar Square is protected by a pane of glass.
The two activists who poured the soup on the painting wore t-shirts that read “Just Stop Oil,” according to a video posted by Guardian environmental correspondent Damien Gayle on Twitter. They then glued themselves to the wall with superglue. “What is worth more, art or life?” asked one of the activists. “Are you more concerned about protecting a painting or protecting our planet and people?”.
After the action, the London police arrested the two activists for property damage and serious trespassing, the Metropolitan Police said.
In the past few weeks, climate activists around the world have repeatedly stuck themselves to the frames or acrylic glass protection of famous paintings. In August, two activists glued themselves to a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder in the Berlin Picture Gallery and in Dresden to Raphael’s world-famous Sistine Madonna. There were similar actions in Florence and London, among others.
