ROME: A group of activists threw pea soup at a Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece, The Sower, on Friday in a protest they warned would continue until more attention was paid to climate change.

The 1888 painting by the Dutch artist depicting a farmer sowing his land under a dominating sun, was exhibited behind glass and remained undamaged. Climate activists from Last Generation said the attack carried out by four individuals was “a desperate and scientifically grounded cry that cannot be understood as mere vandalism”.

“Non-violent direct action will continue until citizens get answers from their government on the demands to stop gas and coal and to invest in at least 20 GW of renewables,” they said in a statement. A series of attacks, including by Last Generation and others, have targeted major paintings in prestigious museums by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Vermeer and Van Gogh.

Last month, the group Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at London’s National Gallery. That painting, also protected by glass, was undamaged.

“Everything that we would have the right to see in our present and our future is being obscured by a real and imminent catastrophe, just as this pea puree has covered the work in the fields,” Last Generation said in its statement.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2022