Paris museum says painting was target of attempted attack

Paris museum says painting was target of attempted attack

The Musee d'Orsay is home to artworks by some of the most famous European artists including Paul Gaugin and Vincent van Gogh
The Musee d'Orsay is home to artworks by some of the most famous European artists including Paul Gaugin and Vincent van Gogh. Photo: Ludovic MARIN / AFP/File
Source: AFP

A young woman tried to throw soup at a painting at the world-famous Musee d'Orsay in Paris this week, the museum confirmed Sunday, in a similar attack to others by climate activists in Europe.

The museum refused to say which painting was targeted but it is home to artwork by some of the most famous European artists including Paul Cezanne, Paul Gaugin, Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet.

The museum told AFP it had filed a legal complaint for the "attempt to damage a piece of work" after the female activist was intercepted on Thursday, confirming a report in Le Parisien daily.

The Paris prosecutor's office said police had opened an investigation after the complaint.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, the woman had initially tried to approach the 1889 Van Gogh self-portrait at Saint-Remy before attempting to throw soup at a painting by Gaugin.

Read also

Thousands of Czechs rally in support of Ukraine

The daily reported she was wearing a "Just Stop Oil" T-shirt, as others have worn during similar stunts in recent weeks.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

Climate activists splashed tomato soup on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' at the National Gallery in London earlier this month
Climate activists splashed tomato soup on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' at the National Gallery in London earlier this month. Photo: Handout / Just Stop Oil/AFP
Source: AFP

On Thursday climate activists glued themselves to Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands.

Environmental activists splashed tomato soup on Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at the National Gallery in London earlier this month, while others threw mashed potato over a Monet painting at the Barberini Museum in Germany.

As the attacks multiply, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak has urged national museums to "redouble their vigilance".

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.