Whether it is Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting or a Monet masterpiece, it's clear that climate change activists have been targeting famous artworks.
The latest painting was Johannes Vermeer’s world-famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” displayed at a museum in the Hague, Netherlands, per The Guardian.
A pair of protesters were seen approaching the portait in a video. One of them glued himself to the glass guarding the painting while the other pours out a tomato soup type of substance all over the man stuck to the artwork.
“How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless apparently being destroyed before your eyes?” one of the activists addressed the room, as seen in the clip.
Many bystanders told the activists wearing “Just Stop Oil” shirts to get away from the displayed work while muttering phrases like “shame on you!” and “this is obscene!”
“Do you feel outraged? Good,” the activist continued. “Where is that feeling when you see the planet being destroyed before your very eyes?”
The activist acknowledged that the painting is protected by glass and is fine but “the future of our children is not protected.”
The two protesters, along with the person filming the incident, were arrested, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, the museum told the Netherlands news outlet NL Times that the painting had not incurred any damage but that “art is defenseless.”
“We understand the climate activists. They advocate for the preservation of nature. But we are in favor of preserving our cultural heritage,” the museum said in a statement before the painting was targeted. “Unfortunately, these actions affect works of art.”
Tomato soup was also thrown at Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” earlier this month, while Monet’s work “Haystacks” received mashed potatoes on Sunday. As for the “Mona Lisa,” it was hit by cake earlier this year, as Hanna Seariac reported for the Deseret News.