The duo were supporters of the activist group Just Stop Oil, which engages in publicity stunts to bring the public’s attention to climate change.
UK CLIMATE ACTIVISTS GLUE HANDS TO VINCENT VAN GOGH PAINTING AT LONDON MUSEUM
Video shows the pair dropping an outer layer of clothing, revealing their Just Stop Oil T-shirts and taking out the cans of soup. The painting is enclosed in glass and aside from minor damage to the frame, the artwork is “unharmed,” the National Gallery said in a statement.
“Human creativity and brilliance is on show in this gallery, yet our heritage is being destroyed by our Government’s failure to act on the climate and cost of living crisis,” Just Stop Oil said in a statement not long after the footage went viral.
“What use is art when we face the collapse of civil society?” the group continued. “The art establishment, artists and the art-loving public need to step up into Civil Resistance if they want to live in a world where humans are around to appreciate art.”
GALLERY DISCOVERS VAN GOGH SELF-PORTRAIT BEHIND OTHER PAINTING
Sunflowers were the subject of two series of paintings by van Gogh, and pieces of art from the floral set sell for tens of millions of dollars.
