Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, is in need of a good wiping down after protesters splattered its protective casing and an expanse of the wall behind it with soup on Sunday, causing chaos at the Louvre in Paris.
According to BBC, two women belonging to the group Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) claimed responsibility for the vandalism on the 500-year-old oil painting — which saw no lasting damage from their efforts — calling for the right to "healthy and sustainable food."
Cameras in the Salle des Etats, where the painting is displayed, caught footage of the event, which can be seen below, and the women can be heard yelling "What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food? Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work."
“Two activists from the environmental movement ‘Riposte Alimentaire’ sprayed pumpkin soup on the armoured glass protecting the Mona Lisa,” according to the Louvre.pic.twitter.com/hpKGYGO7eC
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) January 28, 2024
Reacting to the situation quickly, museum security positioned black screens around the women to defuse the situation, and then called for a brief evacuation. Per the BBC's reporting, this is not the first attack on the Mona Lisa. It has been behind safety glass since the early 1950s, after damage caused by a visitor pouring acid on it.
