British police charge two women after soup thrown at Van Gogh's Sunflowers

The two activists are to be charged with "criminal damage to the frame of van Gogh's Sunflowers painting". PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON - Two women have been charged with criminal damage after they threw soup over Vincent van Gogh's painting "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery, British police said on Saturday.

A video posted by the Just Stop Oil campaign group, which has been holding protests for the last two weeks in London, showed two of its activists on Friday throwing tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, one of the treasures of the museum's collection. It is one of six surviving images of sunflowers that van Gogh made in 1888 and 1889.

As the gloppy orange liquid dripped down the glazing that was protecting the painting, the pair smeared their hands with glue and stuck themselves to the wall beneath the work.

In videos of the incident posted online, gallery visitors can be heard saying "Oh, my gosh!" and calling for security. One of the activists delivers a speech in which they ask visitors whether they "are more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?"

Within minutes, the stunt grabbed attention worldwide, and many social media users expressed concern for the painting's condition.

The gallery said the incident caused minor damage to the frame, but the painting was unharmed. It later went back on display.

Police said the two women, aged 21 and 20, would appear later at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with "criminal damage to the frame of van Gogh's Sunflowers painting".

Another activist will also appear in court accused of damaging the sign outside the New Scotland Yard police headquarters in central London.

Police said in total 28 people have been arrested during protests on Friday.

Climate protesters across Europe have for months been glueing themselves to the frames of famous paintings in a series of attention-grabbing stunts.

In Britain, activists have attached themselves to about half-a-dozen masterpieces, including John Constable's The Hay Wain.

In Germany, protesters have stuck themselves to works, including Rubens' Massacre Of The Innocents, which hangs in the Alte Pinakothek, in Munich.

In Italy, works in the Uffizi, in Florence, and at the Vatican Museums have been targeted.

Ms Mel Carrington, a spokeswoman for Just Stop Oil, said in a telephone interview that the group's intention has been to generate publicity and to create debate around the climate crisis and the actions needed to stop it.

Van Gogh's Sunflowers - valued at roughly US$80 million (S$114 million) had nothing to do with climate change, she said. It was simply "an iconic painting, by an iconic painter" and an attack on it would generate headlines.

But the choice of soup was more symbolic, Ms Carrington said: In Britain, many householders are struggling to pay fuel and food bills because of soaring inflation, and some could not even afford to heat up a can of soup.

The government should be helping ordinary people deal with "the cost of living crisis", rather than enabling fossil fuel extraction, she added.

Ms Carrington said the activists checked in advance that the work was glazed, so the soupy splattering would cause no damage and could simply be wiped away. NYTIMES, REUTERS

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