You’d think security would be at an all-time high at the Louvre Museum in Paris ever since a protester disguised as a woman in a wheelchair attempted to shatter the protective glass of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in 2022, smearing cake over it after he failed. And yet, protesters assailed the masterpiece again this morning, January 28, splashing soup at its bulletproof glass. The prized masterpiece was not harmed, the museum said.
It happened around 10am local time, when two members of the climate group Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) dashed at the painting, hurling what appears to be pumpkin soup at its protective glass and the wall around it.
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They ducked under a barrier around the splattered painting and delivered a short speech in front of shocked patrons.
“What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?” one of them said.
“Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work,” the other added.
In a video posted by Riposte Alimentaire on social media, Lourve staff is seen erecting black screens to cover the incident while the protesters stood there silently, waiting to be apprehended. Patrons can be heard yelling “mais non,” the French equivalent of “are you serious?”
The Mona Lisa smiled awkwardly in the back as the pumpkin soup slowly dripped down her face.
The gallery was closed for a cleanup and reopened to visitors around 11:30 local time, the museum told the BBC.
Source: Hyperallergic.com