I disfigure the works of environmentalists because

The provocative actions of environmental groups against works of art do not stop. Objective: to encourage public opinion to take a stand against pollution and the destruction of nature. Thursday, October 27, an activist from Just Stop Oil stuck his head against the glass that protects the famous painting by Dutch painter Jan Vermeer.

This is the Girl with a Turban, better known as the Girl with a Pearl Earring and housed in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, Holland. Another activist who accompanied the man who tried to “glue” his ear to Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring poured the contents of what looks like a can of tomato sauce on him. Then he in turn glued his left hand to the wall on which the work is located.

Just Stop Oil activists “against” the “pearl girl”. Photo Ansa / Twitter Jens

He then addressed the visitors in the room and said, “How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless that seems to be destroyed right before your eyes? It’s the same feeling as when you see the planet destroying itself.” The management of the museum in The Hague said that the painting was not damaged. Police said they arrested three people in connection with “the ‘attack’ on the artwork, but did not provide further details.

Why “hit” art?

In recent weeks, demonstrations against the most famous works of art have often taken place in various parts of Europe, which, without damaging them, provoke shock, and generally very negative, reactions in many people. The purpose of provocations by environmentalists aimed at art is to attract the attention of public opinion. Just Stop Oil activists want to push for the need to protect the planet from pollution, the worst effects of irreversible climate change and the depletion of environmental resources. And they point the finger at the producers of raw materials, and not only, which are very polluting. It is unclear, however, if they succeed in their intention. More and more critical voices are being raised against their “provocative” initiatives.

Throwing mashed potatoes against Monet’s painting in Potsdam on October 23, 2022. Photo Ansa / Twitter Letzte Generation

The Uffizi Gallery is also in the viewfinder

Two weeks ago, two Just Stop Oil activists threw tomato soup on Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers painting at the National Gallery in London. On Sunday, October 23, two members of the German group Letzte Generation (Ultima Generation) coated a Monet painting with mashed potatoes at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany. Last July, a group of activists instead clung to the glass that protects another world famous work of art, La Primavera by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi in Florence, showing a banner with the words “No gas, no of coal”.

An activist taken from the Uffizi after the blitz of July 22, 2022. Photo Ansa / Ultima Generazione