Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after smashing the glass covering a Diego Velázquez painting at the National Gallery in London, as police detained dozens of others who blocked Whitehall.
Two activists targeted the glass on the Rokeby Venus painting with safety hammers before they were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
The artwork, which was painted by Velázquez in the 1600s, was slashed by the suffragette Mary Richardson in 1914. One of those involved on Monday said: “Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words.”
The Metropolitan police said at least 40 activists who were “slow marching” in Whitehall were also detained and that the road was clear after traffic was stopped for a brief period.
I completely agree that oil needs to be stopped and that it is destroying our planet.
That being said I hate what these idiots are doing so unbelievably much. Absolutely nothing warrants the destruction of art or even the attempt. Hell, I don’t even like the fact that the Confederate statues are being destroyed. Move them to museums where they can serve as examples of our past and the mistakes we made as a society.
This is a dumb protest by dumb people that leads only to their words being ignored because the actions they are committing are dumb.
Art is such a stupid unimportant topic when it compairs to the actual destruction of the Earth.
The Earth is an infinitely more beautiful and more important price of art. I don’t think there’s much that isn’t worth destroying to save it (though we shouldn’t have to).
Creating outrage is historically an important part of effecting change.
also I think just stop oil is backed by oil companies?
You never know. Maybe its to print a bad picture.