Paris museum thwarts activist鈥檚 attempt to throw soup over painting
The incident at the Mus茅e d'Orsay reportedly involved a Gauguin and follows similar incidents in other European countries in recent weeks
The Mus茅e d'Orsay is home to paintings by some of the most famous European artists including Paul C茅zanne, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet
enricoRubicondo / Shutterstock
Increased security at the Mus茅e d'Orsay is reported to have paid off last week after guards stopped a protester from throwing soup over an artwork and glueing her face to another.
The woman aroused suspicion when she took off her jumper to reveal a 鈥楯ust Stop Oil鈥� slogan on a white T-shirt, reports.
She was allegedly accompanied by cameramen on the visit on Thursday (October 27).
Van Gogh and Gauguin believed to be targets
The museum declined to say which painting was targeted but the woman is believed to have approached Vincent Van Gogh鈥檚 1889 鈥楽elf-portrait in Saint-R茅my鈥� with the intention to stick her face to it and carried the soup to throw at a Paul Gauguin canvas if that failed.
Security intervened and she was escorted to the exit before police arrived.
The Paris prosecutor's office said police had opened an investigation after the Mus茅e d'Orsay told AFP it had filed an official complaint for 鈥渁ttempt to damage a piece of work鈥�.
Activists try glueing face to 鈥楪irl with a Pearl Earring鈥�
The incident took place on the same day climate activists tried to glue themselves to Johannes Vermeer's 鈥楪irl with a Pearl Earring鈥� at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands.
Earlier this month, a German environmental group threw mashed potatoes over Claude Monet鈥檚 鈥楲es Meules鈥� (鈥楬aystacks鈥�) at Museum Barberini outside Berlin.
Just Stop Oil activists also emptied tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh鈥檚 鈥楽unflowers鈥� at the National Gallery in London before glueing themselves to the wall below it.
All the paintings were behind glass and undamaged.
France鈥檚 Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak has urged national museums to "redouble their vigilance" in the wake of these protests.
Just Stop Oil, a non-violent civil resistance movement, is demanding that governments halt all future licensing for development and production of fossil fuels.
Activists say their campaign against artworks highlights the disparity between the protection afforded to paintings but not the billions of lives at risk because of climate change.
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