A group of protesters at London’s Royal Academy glued themselves to a copy of Lenoardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper on Tuesday. This was the fifth action in a series of similar protests targeting famous artworks.
According to Deutsche Welle, the 500 year-old painting, attributed to Giampietrino, is a full-scale copy of the famous work by Vinci, who is thought to have been Giampietrino’s master.
Who has been attacking artworks and why?
Just Stop Oil is a group of environmental activists who sprayed the words “no new oil” and glued themselves to the frame of The Last Supper. They have been going around targeting museums and galleries in the UK.
Just Stop Oil defines itself as a “coalition of groups working together to ensure the government commits to halting new fossil fuel licensing and production,” as stated on the initiative’s website.
In a statement, the group said that they have been targeting art, as it is “part of our collective culture,” adding, “We love our history and culture too much to just allow it all to be destroyed.”
“Supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue to peacefully disrupt whatever it takes until the government agrees to halt all new fossil fuel projects,” the group also stated, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
The UK’s National Police Coordination Centre has warned museums and galleries to tighten security amid the series of protests.
The security briefing said it is likely that the group will carry out similar actions at cultural institutions.
What else have they attacked so far?
On Monday, two climate activists of the group glued themselves to a 200-year-old masterpiece at London's National Gallery.
The duo covered John Constable's famous 1821 landscape painting "The Hay Wain" with a modified version of the image before sticking their hands to its frame, CNN reported.
They first taped over the canvas with a "reimagined version" of the bucolic scene, showing the landscape covered in pollution, dotted with wildfires and overflown by aircraft.
One of the protesters, Eben Lazarus, 22, told more than 50 onlookers at the London gallery: "We have covered 'The Hay Wain' with a reimagined version that illustrates the expected impact of our addiction to fossil fuels on our countryside."
The painting "is an important part of our cultural history, our heritage. But it is not more important than the 3.5 billion people already in danger because of the climate crisis", he added.
The second protester, Hannah Hunt, 23, condemned the government for giving the green light to new oil and gas projects this year.
"The disruption will end as soon as the UK government makes a meaningful statement that it will end new oil and gas licences," she added.
Last week, protestors glued themselves to works by J.M.W. Turner, Vincent van Gogh, and Horatio McCulloch in London, Glasgow and Manchester to warn against "a future of suffering".
On Sunday, the group invaded the circuit at Silverstone during a break in the British Grand Prix.
With inputs from agencies
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