Climate activists attack Monet painting (VIDEO)
The incident comes two weeks after members of the same group attacked the Mona Lisa
A pair of climate activists threw soup at a work of art by French impressionist painter Claude Monet on Saturday.
They entered the Museum of Fine Arts in the French city of Lyon and targeted Monet’s 1872 painting ‘Springtime’ (aka ‘The Reader’), which depicts a young woman reading a book in a field.
The painting was protected by a glass cover, the museum said on X (formerly Twitter).
???? “Ce printemps sera le seul qui nous restera si nous ne réagissons pas. Que vont peindre nos futurs artistes ? A quoi rêverons-nous s'il n'y a plus de printemps ?”
— Riposte Alimentaire (@riposte_alim) February 10, 2024
ont scandé Ilona et Sophie, citoyennes engagées avec la campagne Riposte Alimentaire. [2] pic.twitter.com/bg4UNnejFF
The soup attack was carried out by the ‘Riposte Alimentaire’ (Food Response) group, which advocates for action on climate change and sustainable agriculture. “This spring will be the last one that we’ll have if we don’t react!” the activists chanted. Both were apprehended by police, French media said.
The group conducted a similar stunt just two weeks ago, hurling pumpkin soup at Leonardo’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.
In a post on X, Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet condemned the activists for attacking the painting, but added that their concerns are “legitimate.”