A Monet masterpiece was thrown with soup in Lyon. The perpetrators belong to the “Riposte alimentaire” group. The museum wants to file a complaint.
Lyon – About two weeks ago, the world's most famous work of art, the Mona Lisa, was thrown with soup by activists. Now a painting by Monet in Lyon, France, has become the target of a similar attack.
Environmental activists throw soup at Monet paintings
Two young women in white shirts, inscribed with a black marker, stand in front of a painting in the “Musée des Beaux-Arts” in Lyon. It is the impressionist masterpiece “Le Printemps” (Spring) by Claude Monet, which was created in 1872. A yellow sauce drips from the picture, disfiguring it beyond recognition. Once again, environmental activists have damaged a work of art containing soup.
The two women belong to the “Riposte alimentaire” movement. They confessed to X (formerly Twitter) about the crime and shared a picture of it on February 11th. A video also shows them throwing the soup onto the painting. The museum confirmed the action. The name of the movement can be translated roughly as “food counter-strike”. The same group was also responsible for throwing soup at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris.
“We have to act now”: Activists want to use the campaign to draw attention to climate change
The activists spread their message on social media: “We must act now before it is too late.” They added: “This spring is the only one we have left if we don’t do something now. What will our future artists paint? What will we dream about when there is no more spring?”. According to its own statements, the group is committed to affordable, sustainable and healthy food for everyone.
Climate activists arrested after throwing soup, museum announces lawsuit
The action caused a lack of understanding: Culture Minister Rachida Dati expressed her incomprehension about the act and promised the museum team her support. The museum itself announced after the incident that it would file a complaint about vandalism, according to the newspaper Le Parisien reported. The local prefecture added that the two women were arrested.
Despite the attack, the oil painting is likely to have remained undamaged or at least without major damage. It is protected by a glass pane. Nevertheless, the condition of the painting will be checked to be on the safe side.
Worldwide actions by environmental activists on works of art
Recently there have been repeated attacks on important works of art by climate activists around the world. A wide variety of groups took part in these actions. Destinations included Andy Warhol's “Campbell's Soup” in Australia, Vincent Van Gogh's “Sunflowers” in London and another painting by Claude Monet entitled “Grain Stack” in Potsdam's Barberini Museum.
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