Two protesters have thrown tinned soup at Vincent Van Gogh's iconic work, Sunflowers, at the National Gallery, London
(Picture: Just Stop Oil/PA )Two followers of an anti-oil protest movement tossed a can of tomato soup over one of the most priceless artworks in the world on Friday (October 14), during a protest in London.
Activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland then glued themselves to the art-gallery wall next to the vandalised Sunflowers, by Vincent Van Gogh, one of 11 paintings of sunflowers which took two years to paint, in 1888 and ’89. The artist created them to decorate his house in Arles, France, before an infamous visit from his friend, the artist Paul Gauguin.
The pair was seen wearing T-shirts that read “Just Stop Oil”. The group is well-known for advocating against fossil-fuel extraction in the UK, in extreme ways.
According to Just Stop Oil’s website, the action was planned to encourage ending our reliance on fossil fuels and is in response to the Government’s inaction on both the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis.
But where is the painting based and is it indefinitely ruined?
Where is the painting housed?
Van Gogh’s iconic piece takes residence at the National Gallery in central London. The gallery is one of the UK’s most prestigious art institutions.
Sunflowers has an estimated value of £72.5 million. The gallery describes the sunflower paintings as “among Van Gogh’s most iconic and best-loved works”.
Is Vincent Van Gogh’s piece ruined?
Representatives for the National Gallery shared that the painting was under glass and was undamaged, with only minor harm to its frame.
London’s National Gallery confirmed it is now back in place, about six hours after the soup incident.
Were the protestors arrested?
London’s Metropolitan Police said it arrested the two activists for criminal damage and aggravated trespass.
Why did they say they did it?
A protester shouted: “What is worth more? Art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?”
She also referenced the cost-of-living crisis and “millions of cold, hungry families” who “can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup”.
Who are the group behind the protest?
Just Stop Oil is a climate-campaign group in the UK using civil resistance with the aim of ensuring the UK Government commits to halting new fossil-fuel licensing and production.
It launched in February of this year and held a month of oil-terminal disruptions across England in April.
Today’s action comes three months after members of the same group pasted paper over John Constable’s the Hay Wain in the same gallery.
The group state on their website that their act of resistance will be returning “today, tomorrow and the next day” until their demands are met, which is no new oil and gas in the UK.
