Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Sower was not damaged after soup was thrown at it by climate activists. That happened Friday in Rome. The frame of the painting was slightly damaged. The Sower is on loan from the Kröller-Müller Museum in Palazzo Bonaparte, as part of a Van Gogh exhibition.
The four climate activists who threw the soup against the work have been arrested. The painting was immediately removed from the room after the action.
“As important as the climate message is, art is defenseless,” the Kröller-Müller Museum wrote in a statement on Friday. “The Kröller-Müller Museum strongly rejects actions that could lead to damage, for whatever purpose.”
The work that hangs in Rome was painted in 1888. Palazzo Bonaparte has been loaned a total of fifty Van Gogh paintings for an exhibition. Van Gogh has more than thirty drawings and paintings with the theme of sowers to his name.
Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) is behind the action. It is a fork of Extinction Rebellion. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, activists from this group previously glued themselves to a work of art by Sandro Botticelli. Activists worldwide have been drawing attention to the climate crisis in recent months by including world-famous works of art in their actions.