Climate activists smear red paint on Monet artwork at Stockholm museum

Issued on: 15/06/2023 – 07:21Modified: 15/06/2023 – 16:02

“Two women around the ages of 25 and 30 were arrested,” police said, as the organisation Aterstall Vatmarker (Restore Wetlands) claimed responsibility in an interview with AFP.

The artwork was “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny”, painted by French impressionist Claude Monet in 1900.

The painting was not damaged in the incident, the Orsay Museum in Paris, which owns the work, said on Thursday.

Orsay director Christophe Leribault told reporters that the painting, which was covered with protective glass, was examined by restorers from the two museums.

Aterstall Vatmarker posted a video on Facebook where the two women, one a nurse and the other a nursing student, could be seen smearing the paint and gluing their hands to the glass.

The two then shout: “The (climate) situation is acute” and “our health is threatened”.

In an interview with AFP, Aterstall Vatmarker spokesperson Helen Wahlgren said a climate catastrophe “is also a health crisis” with “millions of people already dying from the climate disaster”.

The organisation said “gorgeous gardens like those in Monet’s painting will soon be a distant memory.”

Wahlgren accused the Swedish government of not respecting its international climate commitments.

“We should lower our emissions by 31 percent. But our emissions are still increasing. It’s outrageous.”

The museum said it was “naturally” opposed to actions that risk damaging works of art.

“Cultural heritage has great symbolic value and it is unacceptable to attack or destroy it, regardless of the purpose,” acting chief curator Per Hedstrom said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)