London: Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” sprayed with soup by young workers

Environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil movement threw tomato soup at Van Gogh’s masterpiece ‘The Sunflowers’ on display at London’s National Gallery on Friday morning, causing minor damage to the frame, according to the museum.

According to press images released by the movement, which calls for an immediate halt to new oil or gas projects, two workers threw the contents of two cans of soup onto the project, which is estimated to be worth more than $84 million.

“Police were quickly on the scene at the National Gallery this morning after two female protesters threw a substance at a painting and then stuck it to a wall,” Scotland Yard said in a statement. They were arrested specifically for ‘degradation’.

The museum said in a statement that two men “were seen clinging to the wall adjacent to Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ (1888)” and “threw a red substance – which appeared to be tomato soup – on the painting”. The frame suffered “minor damage” but the painting remains “intact”, the National Gallery assured.

This new action by the group, which has already targeted works of art in the past, comes within the framework of a month of activities in which they have also blocked roads on several occasions. “The cost of living crisis comes from fossil fuels – daily life has become unbearable for millions of families who are cold and hungry – they can’t even afford a can of soup,” said Phebe Plummer, a 21-year-old activist, quoted in a statement from the movement. “At the same time,” he argued, “people are dying because of fires and droughts caused by climate change.” “We cannot afford new oil and gas projects”, they will “take everything away”.