“Just Stop Oil” activists stick their hands to the wall after throwing soup at van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery in London, Britain October 14, 2022.
Oil Just Stopping | Reuters
Climate activists throw soup through Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Sunflowers” on Saturday appeared in a London court on criminal damages, some outlets reported.
Two women protested as part of the Just Stop Oil advocacy group, and they plead not guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court for two brief hearings.
After pouring two cans of tomato soup over the Van Gogh oil painting Friday, the protesters also glued their eyes to the gallery’s walls. They have been removed and taken into custody by experts, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.
A spokesperson for the National Gallery confirmed that there was no damage to the painting, which is one of the iconic versions of “Sunflowers” that Van Gogh painted in the late 1880s. It has an estimated value of $80.99 million.
“There was some minor damage to the frame but the painting was unharmed,” a spokesperson told CNBC. The painting was covered in glass, and it was cleaned and returned to the National Gallery Friday afternoon.
Just Stop Oil has protested in London for the past two weeks, and the group said in a press release that its action was “in response to the government’s inaction on both the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis.”
“What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more interested in protecting the picture or protecting our planet and people?” one activist said in a video about the event.
Just Stop Oil received widespread criticism from environmental groups and opposition Labor Party politicians following the protest.
