In a statement made a short time later, they compared their act of vandalism to another attack on a painting by the Spanish painter – in 1914, suffragette activist Mary Richardson attacked the painting with a butcher knife in protest against the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst.

“Politics is failing us. This failed women in 1914 and it fails us now. New oil and gas will kill millions of people. “If we love art, if we love life, if we love our families, we must stop using these oils,” they argued. Activists aged 22 and 20 were arrested on property damage charges.

This was another attack by the Just Stop Oil group on works of art – in October 2022, two other activists poured tomato soup on one of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, which is also in the National Gallery. On several occasions, group members also attached themselves to photo frames in the museum.

Meanwhile, around 100 Just Stop Oil activists were arrested on Monday in London on Whitehall Avenue, where they were walking slowly, blocking traffic. Some of them were held near The Cenotaph, a monument commemorating British soldiers who died in the world war and subsequent conflicts. But the group denied its members intended to attack the monument.

The monument has been of concern to politicians for several days in connection with a large pro-Palestinian demonstration planned in London on Saturday, the date of which coincides with Remembrance Day to honor fallen soldiers. Politicians expressed concern that the building might be desecrated during the demonstrations.

The Just Stop Oil group is currently in the midst of a four-week intensive campaign, mainly involving traffic blockages, but on Monday their protest coincided with the UK government’s announcement of its intention to regularly grant new permits for oil and gas production in the North Sea. every year.