Director shocked: "Priceless value" - climate activists stick to Rubens painting in Munich
Created: 08/29/2022, 20:57
By: Felix Herz
A stone lion in front of the Alte Pinakothek building in Munich.
The museum houses one of the most important art collections in the world.
© picture alliance / Andreas Gebert/dpa
Again and again, climate activists from the "Last Generation" movement attract attention with protest actions.
Now there was an incident in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Munich - The painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul Rubens dates from the 17th century.
It hangs in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
For the general director of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, Bernhard Maaz, the picture and its frame are "of inestimable cultural and historical value".
Now the latter has been damaged – during a protest action by climate activists from the “Last Generation” movement.
'Last Generation' activists stick to Rubens painting
The activists of the climate movement "Last Generation" make headlines again and again.
Their protest actions are intended to attract and disturb the general public - they achieve this with sometimes drastic measures.
Glue or cable ties are often used: The activists then stick themselves to the ground on main thoroughfares to stop traffic.
They want to draw attention to the consequences of climate change and protest the use of fossil fuels, which promote it.
The painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" hangs in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The frame was damaged during a protest by climate activists.
© Bavarian State Painting Collections/dpa
This weekend there were two actions of the "last generation": On Saturday, August 27th, two activists tried to tie themselves to one of the goals with cable ties during the Bundesliga game between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The day before, on Friday, August 26, two activists taped themselves to the frame of Peter Paul Rubens' painting The Massacre of the Innocents.
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"Not legitimate": Director General criticizes climate activists
During the action of the two "Last Generation" activists, the frame of the painting was damaged.
Maaz has no understanding for this.
"It is not legitimate to damage unique cultural evidence of humanity in order to point out the factual climatic problems," said the Director General.
Museum staff and police officers used solvents to dislodge the activists from the painting's historical frame.
This was affected.
The State Painting Collection was unable to quantify the extent of the damage.
Maaz can only shake his head: "A painting like "The Massacre of the Innocents" and the historical gilded frame are of inestimable cultural-historical value".
A similar action only recently took place in Dresden. (
fhz
)
Dresden: Climate activists stick to the "Sistine Madonna"
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