Activists throw pea soup on a Van Gogh in Rome

Environmental activists from the Last Generation group, after throwing pea soup on Vicent Van Gogh's painting 'The Sower' in Rome.ULTIMA GENERAZIONE (ULTIMA GENERAZIONE)

Four environmental activists have launched this Friday pea soup on the painting

(1988)

by Vincent Van Gogh and have been glued to the wall where it was exposed, in the Bonaparte Palace museum in Rome.

The work, which is part of a temporary exhibition dedicated to the Dutch painter in the Italian capital, has not been damaged because it was protected by glass, as explained by Camila Talfani, spokesperson for the organizers of the exhibition.

The assailants are part of Last Generation, an environmental organization that has stressed in a statement that its objective was not to damage the painting, but to raise awareness in society about climate change and its consequences, such as the lack of access to food suffered by some countries. and populations that are forced to migrate from their homes for this reason.

The attack is intended to symbolize that, just as the most prominent elements of the painting—the field, the farmer, and his house—are being washed away by the mushy peas poured over the painting, natural resources are disappearing.

It is not the first attack of these characteristics against a work of art.

In the past month, other activists from groups such as Just Stop Oil have thrown paint, tomato sauce, mashed potatoes or even glued parts of their bodies to other paintings by Van Gogh, such as

, or by other artists, such as

by Johannes Vermmer or "The Admirals" by Claude Monet, also without causing damage.

"It is a desperate cry, and scientifically founded, that cannot be understood as a simple vandalism, but as the manifestation of a visceral love for life and for art, which can only be protected with serious and timely intervention by governments" , have added Last Generation in the statement, where it also underlines the need to bet on the transition towards sustainable energy.

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has condemned the attack.

"Culture, which is a fundamental part of our identity, must be defended and protected and not used as a megaphone for other forms of protest," Sangiuliano said in a statement.

For his part, one of the attackers declared during the protest: “We should not get angry about a painting that is protected by glass and that will be clean tomorrow.

The activists have been detained by the Roman authorities to be identified, according to several Italian media, which add: “if the painting had been damaged, the activists face a sentence of two to five years in prison for deterioration, soiling or illicit use. of cultural or landscape assets.

On its website, the organization stresses that it limits itself to carrying out “non-violent civil disobedience actions to request urgent and concrete actions against ecoclimatic collapse.”

Last month, members of this association peacefully blocked the roads that cross the Porta Ardeatina - one of the gates of the Aurelian Walls of Rome - in order to "draw the attention of politicians and citizens to the request to stop investments in fossil fuels".

You can follow CLIMA Y MEDIO AMBIENTE on