Climate activists glued themselves to Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” at a Dutch museum on Thursday in the latest stunt targeting famous artworks, but the painting was undamaged.
Three men were arrested after the attack at The Hague’s Mauritshuis museum on the 1665 masterpiece which has inspired a bestselling novel and a Hollywood film.
The trio were Belgian, one 42-year-old and two 45-year-olds. “They remain in custody and are being questioned,” The Hague police said.
Social media images showed a man wearing a “Just Stop Oil” T-shirt gluing his head to the painting, while another glued his hand to the wall and a third emptied out a tin of what appeared to be tomato soup.
The stunt comes after activists threw soup at Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery in London on October 14 and smeared mashed potato over a Claude Monet painting in Germany.
"Art is defenceless and we strongly condemn trying to damage it for whichever cause," the Mauritshuis said in a statement to AFP.
The museum said the stunt took place at around 2 p.m. and that police were called.
”One person glued his head to the painting, which was behind glass, and the other person glued his hand to the green wall next to the painting. A third person threw an unknown substance at the painting,” it said.
The Mauritshuis added: “We have immediately inspected the painting, which was done by our restorers. Fortunately the painting... was not damaged.”
It will be back on public display “as soon as possible”.
‘Beautiful and priceless’
A video on Twitter showed a shaven-headed activist sticking his head to the “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Another poured a red substance from a tin over the head of the first activist.
A third man in a white “Just Stop Oil” T-shirt shouted as he glued his hand to the wall.
”How do you feel when you see something beautiful and priceless being apparently destroyed before your eyes,” he said. “This painting is protected by glass but the future of our children is not protected.”
Museum visitors shouted “shame”, “obscene” and “you’re stupid”.
”Even though I might be in favour of what they want to achieve, this is not the way to do it and I don’t think they will get much support from the public,” museum visitor Frans Smit, 59, said.
Fellow visitor Jaap de Carpentier Wolf, 56, was more sympathetic.
“I think it’s good to draw attention to the climate,” he said. “It’s changing, it’s very hot in The Hague today, so we have to do something”.
