Another famous artwork has been attacked.
On Friday, two climate change activists tried to glue themselves to “The Scream,” a masterpiece by Edvard Munch from 1893.
The painting, housed at the National Museum of Norway in Oslo, was not harmed. The activists, including a third person who was filming the incident, were taken into custody by the police, per The Associated Press.
The activists belong to the Norwegian organization Stopp Oljeletinga, which translates to Stop Oil Exploration. The group’s goal is to put pressure on lawmakers on the issue since Norway is a major oil and gas producer, according to AP.
“We are campaigning against ‘Scream’ because it is perhaps Norway’s most famous painting,” Astrid Rem, a spokesperson for the group, told AP. “There have been lots of similar actions around Europe. They have managed something that no other action has managed: achieve an extremely large amount of coverage and press.”
Only last month, a pair of protesters glued themselves to Johannes Vermeer’s world-famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring” while pouring tomato sauce on themselves, as I previously reported for the Deseret News.
Every artwork attacked by climate activists
According to Artnet, here are all of the paintings that have been targeted by climate change activists this year:
- “Mona Lisa,” by Leonardo da Vinci in May.
- “Peach Trees in Blossom,” by Vincent Van Gogh in June.
- “My Heart’s in the Highland,” by Horatio McCulloch in June.
- “The Hay Wain,” by John Constable in July.
- “Aeolian Harp,” by J.M.W. Turner in July.
- “The Last Supper,” by Giampietrino in July.
- “Sistine Madonna,” by Raphael in August.
- “Sunflowers,” by Vincent van Gogh in October.
- “Haystacks,” by Monet in October.
- And “Girl With a Peal Earring,” by Johannes Vermeer in October.
Museums across the world concerned
In a statement co-signed by nearly 100 gallery directors, museums brought their concerns forth about the recent attacks.
“In recent weeks, there have been several attacks on works of art in international museum collections. The activists responsible for them severely underestimate the fragility of these irreplaceable objects, which must be preserved as part of our world cultural heritage,” read the statement.
It was signed by heads of museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery in London, per The Guardian.
“As museum directors entrusted with the care of these works, we have been deeply shaken by their risky endangerment,” the statement said, per Artnet.
“Museums are places where people from a wide variety of backgrounds can engage in dialogue and which therefore enable social discourse,” the statement continued. “In this sense, the core tasks of the museum as an institution — collecting, researching, sharing and preserving — are now more relevant than ever. We will continue to advocate for direct access to our cultural heritage. And we will maintain the museum as a free space for social communication.”