After “La Gioconda” or “Van Gogh’s Sunflowers”, is Monet’s painting “Les Meules” which has just been targeted by climate activists this Sunday, October 23. Two activists sprayed mashed potatoes on the painting, on display at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany.
A painting protected by glass
The scene took place in seconds. The two activists, dressed in an orange vest, threw the mush before kneeling, with their backs to work, one hand glued to the wall. “Do you have to throw the mashed potatoes on a table for you to listen to? This painting will be worth nothing if we struggle to find something to eat“, launched the activist.
This was then announced by the NGO the two militants had been taken away “in prison“.
The museum said so the painting was protected by glass, so it was not damaged. “Les Meules” will be visible again this Wednesday.
A $ 111 million table
“My heart stopped beating when I heard about this action“, The museum spokesman confided. The mayor of Potsdam is even more severe, denouncing an act of “cultural barbarism“.
“Les Meules” was bought at auction by billionaire Hasso Plattner in 2019, for the sum of 111 million dollars (a record for a Monet). From, it is on permanent loan to the museum.
London, Paris, Potsdam … who’s next?
On October 14, two environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil movement launched tomato soup on Van Gogh’s masterpiece “Sunflowers“at the National Gallery in London. The painting had not suffered any damage, apart from a few”minor damage“on the frame.
In May it was the famous “Mona Lisa”, in the Louvre in Paris, which had been encrusted by a young man in a wheelchair. “think of the planet“, He justified himself.
On the networks, many Internet users report an action “muffle“like the Renaissance deputy Olga Givernet.
Others, on the contrary, share the views of activists.
