The glass-protected artwork is undamaged

Activists throw soup at a Van Gogh painting... and the Italian Minister of Culture: "a despicable act"

The 3 activists sticking their hands after the mural was defaced.

AFP

Climate activists in Rome threw soup on a glass-protected Vincent Van Gogh painting, in an attempt to draw attention to climate change, while the Italian culture minister was quick to condemn the protest move, saying it was "despicable."

Activists targeted Van Gogh's 1888 painting "The Sower" of a farmer scattering seeds in his field with a huge sun in the background. damages.

"The attack on art is a despicable act that must be strongly condemned," Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sanguliano said in a statement.

"Culture, which is the basis of our identity, should be defended and protected, and certainly should not be used as a megaphone for other forms of protest," he said.

Climate advocacy group Last Generation described the move as a "scientific and desperate cry that cannot be considered mere sabotage."

The group emphasized that "non-violent direct action will continue until citizens get answers from their governments about their demands to stop gas and coal and invest in at least 20 gigawatts of renewable energy."

A video clip filmed inside the exhibition showed two young women throwing a liquid in the direction of the painting, then a woman joined them and the three stuck their hands on the wall of the room amid cries of exasperation from visitors.

Climate activists have previously carried out a series of similar operations in recent weeks, targeting famous artworks in a number of European cities.

At the beginning of this month, two activists from the "Last Generation" threw mashed potatoes on the glass painting of the French painter Claude Monet, "The Mill", which is protected in glass, which is displayed at the Barberini Museum in the German city of Potsdam.

Environmental activists also targeted the painting "The Girl with the Pearl Earring", painted by Johannes Vermeer at the Mauritius Museum in The Hague, after two activists threw tomato soup on one of the paintings of Van Gogh's "Sunflower" series at the National Gallery in London.

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