And five.
After having intervened in recent days at the Courtauld collection or at the National Gallery, activists from the environmental movement Just Stop Oil stuck their hands on Tuesday to the frame of an old copy of
The Last Supper
by Leonardo da Vinci exhibited in London, at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Activists also tagged a wall in the museum with white paint to demand an immediate halt to any new oil or gas projects.
“The room was closed to the public.
The police were called at the request of the demonstrators
,” said the Royal Academy, joined by
Le Figaro
.
“
When I was teaching, I took my students to big institutions like the Royal Academy.
But now it seems unfair to expect them to respect our culture when their government is determined to destroy their future by allowing new oil and gas projects
,” said activist and former schoolteacher Lucy Porter, 47. years, quoted in a press release by Just Stop Oil.
“There is no place for me to pursue my vocation as an artist in a world where I have no future
,” said Jessica Agar, another 21-year-old activist, an art student.
Cascading actions
Dated to 1515-1520, the targeted work is a life-size copy of the Milanese fresco painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1495 and 1498. This oil on canvas attributed to Giampietrino, one of his pupils, depicts the biblical scene during which Jesus announces that one of his twelve apostles will betray him.
The canvas itself does not appear to have been touched by the militants, according to the images broadcast online of their intervention.
Read alsoEnvironmental activists step up shock actions in English museums
This is the fifth time in a week that activists from the organization have carried out an action of this type in a cultural institution.
Since last Wednesday, Just Stop Oil activists have been attacking rural paintings by Horatio McCulloch (Kelvingrove Art Gallery), Vincent Van Gogh (Courtauld collection), William Turner (Manchester Art Gallery) and John Constable (NationalGallery).
The militant collective calls for an immediate halt to all new oil and gas projects.
He has also stood out in recent weeks in the United Kingdom by carrying out various blocking actions.
On Sunday, five activists disrupted a British Grand Prix race at Silverstone by bursting onto the circuit.
According to local police, six people were charged on Tuesday following the accident.