Climate protesters threw mashed potatoes at a $110 million Monet painting in Germany to protest fossil fuel extraction.
Two activists from the group “The Last Generation” approached Monet’s painting “The Little One” in the Barberini Museum in Potsdam and threw potatoes at the painting and its golden frame.
Footage of the stunt shows activists in orange vests throwing the mixture before sticking it to the wall below the painting.
One activist then shouts as bewildered gallerygoers follow the painting: “Does a painting need mashed potatoes to make you listen?
“This painting won’t be worth anything if we have to fight for food.
“When are you finally going to listen?”
Four people participated in the stunt, reports the German news agency dpa.
The painting, part of Monet’s famous Haystacks series, was sold at auction three years ago for $110 million.
The Barberini museum said that because it was encased in glass, the activists did not cause any damage.
He is expected to return to the show on Wednesday.
The museum director said he was “shocked” by the stunt.
Ortrud Westheider said: “While I understand the vigilance of activists in the face of climate catastrophe, I am shocked by the means by which they are trying to give weight to their claims.”
Police told dpa that they responded to the incident, but did not provide additional information about arrests or charges.
It is the latest painting in the gallery to be targeted by climate activists.
Two protesters threw up the tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London last week.
Just Stop Oil activists have also taped themselves to the frame of an early copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and to John Constable’s Hay Break at the National Gallery.
https://news.sky.com/story/climate-protesters-throw-mashed-potatoes-at-monet-les-meules-painting-in-germany-12728712