A group of clowns activists vandalised a painting by Claude Monet worth US$111 million (SGD $157.4 million) in a German museum, as part of their protests against fossil fuels.
The environmental protest group responsible for the act, Last Generation, boasted of their actions online, Tweeting:
“If it takes a painting – with #MashedPotatoes or #TomatoSoup thrown at it – to make society remember that the fossil fuel course is killing us all: Then we’ll give you #MashedPotatoes on a painting!”
The painting, Les Meules, is on permanent loan to the Museum Barberini in Potsdam and belongs to billionaire Hasso Plattner – it fetched US$111 million at an auction in 2019.
The activists were seen in the video wearing orange vests, and pouring mashed potatoes onto the painting, then squatting down in front of it and putting their hands on the wall.
One of the clowns activists then said “Do we have to pour mashed potatoes on the painting to get your attention? This painting will not be worth anything if we fight over food.”
The two clowns activists were arrested and taken into custody, and are being investigated by the German authorities for damage to property and trespassing.
The painting didn’t suffer any damage as it was protected by glass, and will be back on display on Wednesday.
We make this #Monet the stage and the public the audience.
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) October 23, 2022
If it takes a painting – with #MashedPotatoes or #TomatoSoup thrown at it – to make society remember that the fossil fuel course is killing us all:
Then we’ll give you #MashedPotatoes on a painting! pic.twitter.com/HBeZL69QTZ