Climate Protesters Cover Monet Artwork In Red Ink, Glue Their Hands To Painting

Last month, two environmental activists who smeared paint on the enclosure of Edgar Degas’ famed La petite danseuse de quatorze ans (Little Dancer of Fourteen Years) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, were indicted on federal charges.

Despite this, it doesn’t seem other protesters across the world have been dissuaded from continuing the cause, with two women covering an artwork by Claude Monet in red ink before gluing their hands to the painting.

Emma & Maj, sjuksköterska respektive sjuksköterskestudent, idag i aktion på Nationalmuseum. Läget är så jäkla kritiskt. Därför satte de röda handavtryck & limmade fast sig på skyddsglaset på Monets kända tavla Konstnärens trädgård i Giverny. #återställvåtmarker pic.twitter.com/Gr0bFzqHDX

— Återställ Våtmarker (@vatmarker) June 14, 2023

The shocking move, which took place at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, targeted a piece titled The Artist’s Garden at Giverny (1900), featuring a picturesque overview of a landscape illustrated by the renowned French Impressionist artist.

According to ARTnews, the two activists—who identified themselves as Emma and Maj—donned t-shirts with the logo of Återställ Våtmarker (Restore Wetlands), an environmental organization that has since claimed responsibility for the stunt.

In an interview with the AFP, spokesperson Helen Wahlgren said that the protest was meant to highlight the worrying fact that the beautiful nature seen in Monet’s painting “will soon be a distant memory.”

As per the museum, the artwork itself was not damaged, with its protective glass protecting it from the smears of red paint and glue. Though, naturally, Chief Curator Per Hedstorm wasn’t too keen about the act, saying it was “unacceptable to attack or destroy it.”

[via ARTnews and AFP, images via Återställ Våtmarker (For press use)]