BERLIN — A group of climate protestors threw mashed potatoes at an 1890 Monet masterpiece that sold for over $110 million in 2019.
Monet’s 1890 oil-on-canvas masterpiece “Meules” was not damaged after the incident on Sunday at Potsdam’s Barberini Museum.
The protest was the the latest in a series of art-related actions meant to draw attention to climate change and environmental destruction. https://t.co/SNmTTPqgKz
— ARTnews (@artnews) October 23, 2022
According to ARTnews, a group of activists from the German group Letzte Generation reportedly approached the painting and threw containers filled with mashed potatoes that splashed against the protected canvas and frame.
Two of the protestors glued themselves to the wall immediately after the incident.
The Barberini Museum said that because the painting was enclosed in glass, the mashed potatoes didn’t cause any damage, according to The Associated Press.
The iconic oil-on-canvas painting is expected to be back on display by Wednesday, according to ARTnews.
Police did respond to the incident, but further information about arrests or charges was not immediately available to the AP.
The Monet painting is the latest artwork in a museum to be targeted by climate activists to draw attention to global warming.
Earlier this month, environmental activists threw tomato soup on one of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers paintings while on display at the National Gallery in London.
Two protestors wearing “Just Stop Oil” t-shirts opened two cans of Heinz Tomato Soup and hurled it at the painting from 1889, which is part of a series by the Dutch painter.
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