Claude Monet became the latest artist to become the focus of a food-related climate change protest after members of a German environmental group threw mashed potatoes over Monet’s painting at the Potsdam Museum on Sunday.
Over Vincent van Gogh’s sunflowers at the National Gallery in London, nine days after Just Stop Oil emptied the tomato soup. Let’s Generation The (last generation) entered the Barberini Museum, sprinkled Monet’s les moules (haystacks) with potatoes, and then glued their hands to the walls.
Protesters said the stunt was designed as a wake-up call in the face of a climate catastrophe. video of the incident Letzte Generation tweeted.
“We are facing a climate catastrophe and all you are afraid of is a picture of tomato soup or mashed potatoes. You know what I’m afraid of? Unfortunately, in 2050, Because science shows you will not be able to support your family,” the protester said. “If I put mashed potatoes on a picture, will I be able to listen? This picture is worth nothing if we have to fight over food. When will I finally start listening? Are you going to quit your job at
The group said it decided to “set this Monet on stage and have the audience as the audience” in order to try to convey its message. If you need to smack the painting with mashed potatoes or tomato soup as a reminder, put mashed potatoes on the painting,” he added.
A museum spokesperson said the painting was protected by glass, and the museum later said it did not appear to be damaged.
A spokeswoman said police arrived shortly after and the protester’s hand was released from the wall with “relative ease.”
Last year, members of the Lette Generation staged a hunger strike outside the Reichstag in Berlin to protest the lack of political action on the climate emergency. Earlier this year, they nailed some of Germany’s busiest highways.
The group, which accuses the German government of ignoring all warnings and driving the country into an “abyss”, says they are part of the last generation that can prevent the collapse of society.
“In the face of this reality, we accept high praise [fines]will not fear criminal prosecution and deprivation of liberty,” it said on its website.
Art galleries have recently become popular venues for high-profile protests. In July, two members of the Italian climate activist group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) glued their palms to the glass protecting Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, saying: I spread a banner. “Ultima Generazione No Gas No Carbon” (previous generation, no gas, no coal).
Two weeks earlier, Just Stop Oil campaigners were glued to the frame of the 500-year-old painting The Last Supper at the Royal Academy in London.
