Environmental activists throw soup onto van Gogh painting in London's National Gallery

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – A group of environmental activists on Friday threw tomato soup over an iconic van Gogh painting in London’s National Gallery.

A video posted online showed two activists throwing a yellowish substance on the Sunflowers painting, one of the most famous by the 19th century Dutch painter. They also glued themselves to the wall below the painting.

“Officers were rapidly on scene at the National Gallery this morning after two Just Stop Oil protesters threw a substance over a painting and then glued themselves to a wall,” a statement from London Metropolitan Police said.

The activists from Just Stop Oil – an environmental group which has been protesting new government oil and gas licenses – have been “arrested for criminal damage & aggravated trespass.”

“Is art worth more than life? More than food? More than justice?” the group wrote on Twitter.

“The cost of living crisis and climate crisis is driven by oil and gas.”