At least three people were arrested this Thursday for trying to vandalize the painting “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” (1665), by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, in the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, authorities revealed.
In a statement, the Mauritshuis Museum guarantees that the work of art, one of the most famous portraits painted by Vermeer, has not been damaged and that the room where it is exhibited has been closed to the public for investigation.
Video of the attack, shared on social media, shows two men next to the Vermeer painting, one with his head leaning against the painting and the other pouring a can of tomato soup on him. The two activists wear a nightgown with reference to the Just Stop Oil movement.
| A new pair of idiots came to attack art for “climate change”, this time they attacked the famous painting by Johannes Vermeer “The girl with a pearl pendant” in a museum in The Hague. pic.twitter.com/a9S8s3OzU5
– Emmanuel Rincon (@EmmaRincon) October 27, 2022
“How does it feel to see something so beautiful and valuable seemingly destroyed before your eyes? Do you feel outraged? Good. Where is that feeling while the planet is being destroyed? This painting is protected by glass, don’t worry. Our el The children’s future is not protected,” says one of the activists, facing guards and other visitors who tell him to shut up.
Thursday’s attack is similar to the one that occurred on the 14th, in which environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil movement threw the contents of two cans of tomato soup at Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” (1888), on display at the National Gallery of London. The frame was slightly damaged.
In July, they were glued to the frame of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and John Constable’s “Haywagon” at the National Gallery.
The group has drawn attention and is criticized for targeting works of art in museums.
Last weekend, activists from the German climate action group Letzte Generation threw mashed potatoes at a painting by French painter Claude Monet on display at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany.
Source: TSF
