Activists threw soup at Mona Lisa – Dagsavisen

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At the Louvre museum in Paris, environmental activists have thrown soup at the painting Mona Lisa, which hangs behind a glass pane. The soup hit the glass, reports the news agency NTB. The activists reportedly demanded the right to “healthy and sustainable food”.

Two women threw the soup, which hit the glass. The women called out demands for healthy and sustainable food and criticized the French agricultural system. They were then taken away by guards. The soup action on Sunday took place after French farmers have demonstrated and campaigned for several days – among other things with demands for higher wages.

Unni Askeland thinks it seems ill-conceived to attack art in order to campaign for the environment. (Mimsy Moller)

The Norwegian artist Unni Askeland is one of those who react with disbelief and anger at the vandalism.

– Why on earth do they destroy art to protest or campaign? she says, upset.

– I understand that this is an easy way to be seen, but perhaps not heard, she says with frustration. The vandalism attempt happened on Sunday. The Mona Lisa, painted by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the world‘s most famous works of art. Askeland thinks it is provocative that it is art that people go wild with when there are so many other things to tackle.

– The world is fucked up, no one has money, no wars are stopped. Throwing food at art is just a piss hole in the snow! acknowledges Askeland.

Environmental activists threw soup at the artwork “Mona Lisa” in the Louvre museum. (DAVID CANTINIAUX/AFP)

Mashed potatoes and resentment

It is not the first time that activists have attacked art with paint, glue and food in order to focus on their causes. In 2022, someone tried to throw a pie at the Mona Lisa. At the time, the glass ensured that the image did not suffer any damage. In the same year, a climate activist had tried to glue his head to the painting “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” in The Hague, while another group campaigned with mashed potatoes against Claude Monet’s painting “High Stack” in the Museum Barberini in Potsdam and then glued themselves to the floor.

In London, Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” were attempted to be soiled with tomato soup at the National Gallery. And here in Oslo, people have campaigned in similar ways. In 2022, two activists tried to glue themselves to Munch’s “Scream” at the National Museum, while two others from “Stopp oljelinga” incurred people’s anger when they threw orange paint on the Monolith and other sculptures in Vigelandsparken while demanding an immediate halt to all exploration for new oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf.

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