LONDON — Two climate change activists were arrested on Monday after they smashed glass protecting a Diego Velázquez oil painting at London’s National Gallery, authorities said.
The two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage, the BBC reported.
The 17th-century painting, “Rokeby Venus” -- also known as the “Toilet of Venus” -- was previously damaged by women’s suffrage activists in 1914, according to Reuters. Suffragette Mary Raleigh Richardson was responsible for the painting’s damage that year, the BBC reported.
A video posted to the British climate activists’ account on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows the men wearing white Just Stop Oil T-shirts and breaking the glass with orange safety hammers, CNN reported.
Two protesters from Britain's climate change protest group Just Stop Oil bashed the glass cover of the 'Rokeby Venus' by 17th-century artist Diego Velazquez, a painting previously slashed by the suffragettes in 1914 pic.twitter.com/jWhsWpH5nr
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 6, 2023
Just Stop Oil identified the two men as 22-year-old Hanan and 20-year-old Harrison, the BBC reported. No last names were provided.
Just Stop Oil has previously targeted famous artworks and public buildings as the source of protests, The Associated Press reported. Officials with the group said Monday’s protest was to demand that the British government halt licensing for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the United Kingdom, according to the news organization.
In a post on X, the National Gallery said that the room was cleared and police were called after the men began to crack the glass around the Velazquez painting at about 11 a.m.
At just before 11am this morning (6 November 2023) two people entered Room 30 of the National Gallery.
— National Gallery (@NationalGallery) November 6, 2023
The pair appeared to strike The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’) by Velázquez with what appeared to be emergency rescue hammers. The room was cleared of visitors and police…
“The painting is now being removed from display so it can be examined by conservators,” the post added.
Just Stop Oil has targeted several pieces of artwork, CNN reported. They include Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers,” a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” and Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”
The activist group has also disrupted several major sporting events in England this year. In July, protesters disrupted two matches at Wimbledon, tossing orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on Court No. 18.
