Two activists from Just Stop Oil smashed the protective glass of a famous Velázquez painting at London’s National Gallery to highlight the environmental crisis.
Just Stop Oil issued a statement following the attack, which read:
“Women did not get the vote by voting, it is time for deeds not words. It is time to Just Stop Oil.
“Politics is failing us. It failed women in 1914 and it is failing us now. New oil and gas will kill millions. If we love art, if we love life, if we love our families we must Just Stop Oil.”
From The Telegraph:
Hanan Ameur, 22, and Harrison Donnelly, 20, were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after using emergency rescue hammers to smash the glass protecting the Rokeby Venus on Monday morning.
The National Gallery said the painting by Diego Velázquez suffered “minimal damage” and needs specialist restoration work before it goes back on display.
Diego Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus was painted in the mid-17th century and is considered one of the artist’s greatest works. In 1914, Canadian suffragette Mary Richardson attacked the painting with a meat cleaver, causing significant damage. She was sent to jail for 6 months. In an 1952 interview, Richardson said she disapproved of “the way men visitors gaped at it all day long”
💥 SUFFRAGETTE PAINTING SMASHED
💀 Our government have revealed plans for MORE oil licences, knowing it will kill millions. In response, two supporters of Just Stop Oil smashed the Rokeby Venus — slashed by Mary Richardson in 1914.
⏱ Deeds, not words: https://t.co/3tlBID7nKA pic.twitter.com/Hk0el26QIt
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) November 6, 2023
