Reflections | Just Stop Oil climate activists’ art attacks can’t compare to China’s worst ever art vandal
- The Emperor Qianlong defaced countless priceless Chinese artworks with his own seals, acts of vandalism far above those of climate activists’ recent attacks
- That Qianlong didn’t think what he did was vandalism just makes it that much more infuriating
In a series of strikes, climate activists attacked important artworks in three museums in October.
On October 14, two young people from Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup at one of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings in the National Gallery in London, England.
On October 23, two activists associated with the German group Letzte Generation slung mashed potatoes at a Monet painting in the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany.
On October 28, another pair of Just Stop Oil activists attacked Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring, with one gluing his own head to the glass covering the painting and the other pouring tomato soup over him.
None of the paintings were damaged as they were protected by glass, but many people, including those who support environmental causes, have questioned if the actions were justifiable and wise.