Van Gogh

Two activists from campaign group Just Stop Oil have been arrested after throwing tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh's famous “Sunflowers” painting.

Just Stop Oil have been protesting in the U.K.'s capital for the past two weeks. The issuance of such licenses had previously been put on hold in 2020 as the government said it was establishing a "climate compatibility check." government put an end to all new oil and gas projects in the country. The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis, fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?

LONDON — Climate protesters threw soup over Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in London's National Gallery on Friday to protest fossil fuel extraction, ...

Several also glued themselves to the road, blocking traffic. The two protesters also glued themselves to the gallery wall. The soup splashed across the glass covering the painting and its gilded frame.

Two protesters who threw a substance that appeared to be tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting Friday morning were arrested on charges of.

[inching toward a recession](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bank-england-interest-rates-rise-inflation-energy-crisis-food-prices-rcna48902) and the pound fell to an all-time low against the U.S. The Conservative government plans to spend billions of pounds to offset high energy bills that are driving a cost-of-living crisis, but economists say the plan is unlikely to pan out. It is one of five paintings he completed of sunflowers, which are among his most famous works, [Sunflowers](https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers)" painting Friday morning were arrested on charges of criminal damage and aggravated trespass, London police said. They can't even afford to heat a tin of soup." "Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?"

Just after 11 a.m. on Friday morning, two young climate protesters entered a room in the National Gallery in London containing one of Vincent van Gogh's ...

It can feel overwhelming facing the impacts of climate change, but there are [ways to cope with climate anxiety](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/climate-change-anxiety-dread-cope/2021/07/14/471eb264-e4d4-11eb-b722-89ea0dde7771_story.html?itid=lb_more-on-climate-change_6). As temperatures rise, heat waves are more often sweeping the globe — and parts of the world are [becoming too hot to survive](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/climate-change-humidity/?itid=lb_more-on-climate-change_4&itid=lb_more-on-climate-change_3). As seas rise, others are exploring [how to harness marine energy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/cop26-scotland-wave-energy-renewables/?itid=lb_more-on-climate-change_14&itid=lb_more-on-climate-change_8). area to push President Biden to declare a “climate emergency.” Another group, known as the Tyre Extinguishers, has been letting the air out of SUV tires across the [United Kingdom](https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dg7qn/who-are-the-tyre-extinguishers) and in [New York](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/27/tire-deflators-suv-new-york-climate-crisis), arguing that the vehicles use more gas and are harmful to pedestrians and cyclists. At least to the activists involved, the fact that the protest had gone viral was probably viewed as a success. [glued themselves](https://twitter.com/UltimaGenerazi1/status/1550481833690890241?s=20&t=UFTmNPnb5LJ5ItK09fxuwQ) to a painting by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi museum in Florence. [climbed on the roof](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/17/extinction-rebellion-activists-london-underground) of a commuter train in London, preventing people from getting to work and causing a scuffle between commuters and protesters. Now that attention for that has cooled down, they have moved on to at least the appearance of defacing artworks, in an attempt to attract more eyes. “There is some minor damage to the frame, but the painting is unharmed,” the National Gallery said in a statement. The media gets accustomed to particular types of activism; a march or a sit-in that once commanded attention soon gets written off as old news. But the climate art stunt was still a strange form of protest, one that seemed more likely to alienate people. In July, protesters glued themselves to John Constable’s “The Hay Wain,” also in London’s National Gallery, after pasting their own “apocalyptic” vision of the future over the painting’s surface.

Activists with the group Just Stop Oil threw soup on a Vincent van Gogh painting at the National Gallery in London.

Still others raised the possibility that van Gogh was not the right artist to target. [Just Stop Oil](https://www.artnews.com/t/just-stop-oil/), threw tomato soup on van Gogh’s Sunflowers, an important example of the Post-Impressionist’s style and one of the National Gallery’s many treasures. [splashed with slime](https://twitter.com/suchavogue1/status/1580883859432157185) and sardonically [asking what van Gogh did](https://twitter.com/StokeyyG2/status/1580881421102567425) to hurt the climate. They then spread glue across their hands and place them to the wall. We all own that painting.” [said](https://twitter.com/andrewdoyle_com/status/1580872772590239746) the protest “represents a repudiation of civilisation and the achievements of humanity.”

Two Just Stop Oil protestors threw a can of tomato soup on Van Gogh's “Sunflowers” painting in London's National Gallery. Here's why.

The artwork is glazed, and apart from minor damage to the frame, the painting is allegedly unharmed. “What is worth more, art or life?” said one of the soup activists while stuck to the wall. [Just Stop Oil](https://juststopoil.org/), an organization that seeks to halt oil and gas extraction in Britain, launched glugs of Heinz tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting.

Anti-fossil fuel protesters threw soup over Vincent van Gogh's famous 1888 painting "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery on Friday.

In July, members of Just Stop Oil glued themselves to a copy of [Picasso's "Massacre in Korea"](https://www.cnn.com/style/article/picasso-extinction-rebellion-intl/index.html)at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. [a masterpiece](https://cnn.com/style/article/just-stop-oil-hay-wain-london-climate/index.html)held in the National Gallery, while members of an Italian climate activist organization glued themselves to Botticelli's "Primavera" in Florence. [Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"](https://cnn.com/style/amp/just-stop-oil-protest-leonardo-da-vinci/index.html)at the Royal Academy of Art in London. [statement posted on Twitter](https://twitter.com/NationalGallery/status/1580880525824122880?s=20&t=uavnXIqEiZkVc0t3QEbcZw), the National Gallery confirmed the incident in Room 43, where "Sunflowers" was displayed, and gave an update on its condition. [Vincent van Gogh](https://cnn.com/style/article/hidden-vincent-van-gogh-self-portrait-intl-scli/index.html)'s famous 1888 painting "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery on Friday.

Two women are to appear in court charged with criminal damage to frame of Sunflowers at London's National Gallery.

The action is expected to last for more than a month. Lora Johnson, 38, of Reydon, Suffolk, also appeared in court on Saturday charged with criminal damage to the main sign outside New Scotland Yard. Two women have appeared in court charged with criminal damage to the frame of Vincent van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers.

Three climate activists appeared in a London court on charges of criminal damage after protests including throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh's “Sunflowers” ...

The two protesters also glued themselves to the gallery wall. The three women pleaded not guilty to criminal damage at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court during two brief hearings Saturday. Just Stop Oil has drawn attention, and criticism, for targeting artworks in museums.

The climate activists who threw soup over Vincent van Gogh's famous "Sunflowers" painting appeared in a court in London on charges of criminal damages.

The painting was covered by glass, and it was cleaned and returned to the National Gallery Friday afternoon. They were removed by specialists and taken into custody, according to the London Metropolitan Police. It has an estimated value of $80.99 million.