The series of protests by climate activists in museums and other cultural institutions has already reached the Prado in Madrid. Two young men glued themselves to the frames of two famous paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya on Saturday. The most important museum in the Spanish capital criticized the action and announced on Sunday that the affected hall was reopened to the public.
“We reject that cultural heritage is harmed by its use as a means of protest,” said the Prado National Museum. During Saturday’s protest, only the frames were slightly damaged after an initial check. Spanish Culture Minister Miquel Iceta also condemned “the act of vandalism”, which “cannot be justified by anything”.
The activists, a young man and a young woman, held onto the frames with one hand. Earlier, the activist had written “+1.5C” on the wall between the paintings, as was also seen in video footage. The 2015 Paris climate agreement sets a goal of stopping global warming by 1.5 degrees if possible, thus avoiding the worst consequences of climate change.
“This is putting our food security at risk,” the young man shouted. The two young men wore T-shirts with “Vegetable Future” stamped on them. This group claims to be fighting the climate crisis by advocating plant-based agriculture. The Europa Press news agency, citing the authorities, wrote that the two activists were “taken away without any problems” by the police. Other information was not known at this time.
In Germany and other European countries too, activists glued themselves to paintings or sprinkled food on them ahead of the 27th World Climate Conference, which opened in Egypt on Sunday, such as at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, where mashed potatoes were tossed into a Monet painting. . None of the paintings had been damaged because they were protected by glass.