Climate activists vandalize famous Van Gogh painting, glue themselves to museum wall

Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Sunflowers” painting was vandalized by two very young climate activists. The duo, part of the group ‘Just Stop Oil’ defaced the painting in the National Gallery in London by throwing Heinz tomato soup on the painting. They then proceeded to superglue their hands to the wall.

Footage and photos of the vandalization of the painting estimated to be worth nearly $84-$100 million made the rounds over social media. After gluing themselves to the wall, they lectured museum goers over the climate and art:

“What is worth more? Art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?”

“Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”

The two youngsters are members of the British organization Just Stop Oil (JSO), a group that says it “demands” the United Kingdom government “end all new oil and gas.”

BBC writes Van Gogh painted seven “Sunflowers” between 1888 and 1889 “to decorate his house in Arles, France, before a visit from his friend, the artist Paul Gauguin.”

The BBC reported that according to one museum employee, the painting is behind a glass pane and should be undamaged. A National Gallery spokesperson stated, “There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.”

A past protest of JSO occurred earlier this summer when another duo taped up ‘modern’ interpretations of John Constable’s scenery painting, The Hay Wain. Instead of the tranquil countryside, JSO’s version showed airplanes, rusted-out cars, and decaying trees. According to JSO, the overlay was “an apocalyptic vision of the future” showing “climate collapse and what it will do to this landscape.”

The two protesters also glued their hands to the picture frame and demanded “NO NEW OIL.”