PARIS: A climate activist was arrested on Saturday for sticking an adhesive poster on a Monet painting at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris to draw attention to global warming, a police source told AFP.
The action by the woman, a member of “Riposte Alimentaire” (Food Response) — a group of environmental activists and defenders of sustainable food production — is the latest in a string of protests aimed at drawing attention to global warming by defacing art.
In a video posted on X, the woman — introducing herself as a “concerned citizen” --- is seen placing a blood-red poster over the “Coquelicots” (Poppy Field) painting by Claude Monet, a French Impressionist artist.
In the video she said of the poster covering Monet’s art that “this nightmarish image awaits us if no alternative is put in place.”
She added: “At four degrees, we can expect hell,” a reference to forecasts saying that Earth’s temperature could rise by 4 Celsius over pre-industrial levels by 2050.
Monet’s painting, completed in 1873, shows people with umbrellas strolling in a blooming poppy field and is part of a special Musee d’Orsay show called “Paris 1874, Inventing Impressionism” that features 130 works by 31 artists.
A restoration expert examined the painting which suffered no permanent damage, the Musee d’Orsay told AFP, adding that it had been put back on the wall.
“The exhibition is entirely accessible to the public again,” a spokesperson said.
The museum would file a criminal complaint, the spokesperson added.
Some of Monet’s works have sold for tens of millions of dollars, with his painting “Meules” (“Haystacks“) even fetching over $110 million including fees at an auction in 2019.
Riposte Alimentaire has claimed responsibility for several attacks on art in France in a bid to draw attention to the climate crisis and deteriorating food quality.
They included an attack on the world’s most famous portrait, the “Mona Lisa,” in the Louvre in January when two protesters hurled soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterwork, saying they had a right to “healthy and sustainable food.”
The attackers were sentenced by a Paris court to carry out volunteer work for a charity organization.
Already in 2022, a man had thrown a custard pie at the Mona Lisa because, he said, artists were not focusing enough on “the planet.”
In February, Riposte Alimentaire protesters again threw soup at a painting, this time in Lyon, southeast France, targeting another Monet painting, “Springtime.”
Last month activists also belonging to the group stuck flyers around “Liberty Leading the People,” a painting by Eugene Delacroix in the Louvre.
In April, two of its members were arrested at the Musee d’Orsay, which is dedicated to 19th-Century art, suspected of preparing an action there.
Riposte Alimentaire calls itself a “French civil resistance movement which aims to spur a radical societal change for the environment and society.”
“We love art,” the movement has said, “but future artists will have nothing to paint on a burning planet.”
Monet appears to be a favorite target for climate activists elsewhere, too, with paintings by the Impressionist having previoiusly come under attack in Potsdam, Germany, and in Stockholm.
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Climate activist arrested for attacking Monet painting in Paris
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Climate activist arrested for attacking Monet painting in Paris
- Action is the latest in a string of protests aimed at drawing attention to global warming by defacing art
For a quarter of a century, Banksy has contributed to many charitable causes
- As his fame has grown, so too have the sums he raises. Reuters could not confirm how much money the artist has donated
Banksy has consistently used his art to fund charitable causes. As his fame has grown, so too have the sums he raises. Reuters could not confirm how much money the artist has donated. In his book “Banksy: The man behind the wall,” author Will Ellsworth-Jones notes that “there is no Banksy Foundation donating money publicly,” making it impossible to “give a complete picture of what he gives away.” Here are some of Banksy’s donations:
2002: Banksy collaborated with Greenpeace to produce artwork for the environmental-action charity’s “Save or Delete” campaign to highlight the dangers of deforestation: It showed characters from Disney’s animated film ‘The Jungle Book,’ tied up and blindfolded in a denuded patch of jungle.
2007: Banksy took his annual “Santa’s Ghetto” pop-up art show and 20 street artists to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, donating proceeds to local youth projects.
2008: Banksy released a series of 299 signed prints of his mural depicting children saluting a Tesco supermarket bag. The sale was conducted as a lottery. According to a published report, Banksy donated the £24,406.61 raised to Sightsavers, an international NGO that provides free eye operations.
2010: Banksy pledged to donate all royalties from 175 prints of his “Choose Your Weapon” mural of a hooded man holding a dog painted in the style of fellow street artist Keith Haring to Russian art collective Voina. Two members of the collective were in a St. Petersburg jail at the time for taking part in an anti-corruption protest. That year, Banksy allowed Moorfields Eye Hospital in London to remove and auction the 2006 “Gangsta Rat” piece he painted on the side of its building. The piece was sold to raise money for the hospital.
2013: In a month-long residency in New York, Banksy bought a beat-up oil painting from a thrift store for $50 and altered the piece by adding a Nazi officer admiring the landscape it depicted. He then covertly returned the doctored work to the charity shop and included a note authenticating it as a Banksy. The charity, Housing Works, sold the piece at auction for $615,000.
2014: A struggling youth club in Bristol, the Broad Plain Boys Club, found a Banksy mural on its doorway. “Mobile Lovers” showed a couple embracing but distracted by their mobile phones. When it became clear it was a Banksy, the local council tried to claim it. Banksy clarified that he intended the piece as a gift to the club, which was facing closure. The club sold the piece for over £400,000 and used the money to stay afloat.
2015: Banksy enlisted dozens of artists to help create his theme park, “Dismaland.” After the park closed, he donated the set pieces and building materials used to create the alternative theme park to “The Jungle,” a camp for migrant refugees in Calais, northern France.
2017: Banksy opened “The Walled Off Hotel” in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Banksy financed the project independently. The hotel has attracted thousands of visitors and its website notes that any profits will go to local projects.
2019: Banksy created a shop called “Gross Domestic Product” in London. The welcome mats he sold there were produced by women in Greek refugee camps using life vests that washed up on shore. Proceeds were donated to Love Welcomes, a group supporting refugees in the camps.
2020: At the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, Banksy unveiled a piece inside Southampton General Hospital that paid tribute to Britain’s National Health Service workers. It showed a boy who had discarded his Batman and Spiderman dolls in favor of a superhero nurse doll. Banksy donated it to the NHS. A year later, the piece fetched £16.8 million at auction, a Banksy record at that time. The proceeds were used to “support the wellbeing of NHS University Southampton Hospital staff and patients,” according to Christie’s. That summer, Banksy also announced he had funded, equipped, and decorated a former French naval vessel to serve as a migrant rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was rechristened the MV Louise Michel, named after a 19th century French anarchist. According to a website for the boat, it has rescued hundreds of migrants. Conservatively, the vessel costs tens of thousands of dollars to operate each month.
2022: A few weeks after Banksy created seven pieces in Ukraine, the artist put a limited edition of 50 prints on sale, priced at £5,000 each. They were offered via the Legacy of War Foundation’s website. The sale raised £250,000 for the NGO.
2002: Banksy collaborated with Greenpeace to produce artwork for the environmental-action charity’s “Save or Delete” campaign to highlight the dangers of deforestation: It showed characters from Disney’s animated film ‘The Jungle Book,’ tied up and blindfolded in a denuded patch of jungle.
2007: Banksy took his annual “Santa’s Ghetto” pop-up art show and 20 street artists to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, donating proceeds to local youth projects.
2008: Banksy released a series of 299 signed prints of his mural depicting children saluting a Tesco supermarket bag. The sale was conducted as a lottery. According to a published report, Banksy donated the £24,406.61 raised to Sightsavers, an international NGO that provides free eye operations.
2010: Banksy pledged to donate all royalties from 175 prints of his “Choose Your Weapon” mural of a hooded man holding a dog painted in the style of fellow street artist Keith Haring to Russian art collective Voina. Two members of the collective were in a St. Petersburg jail at the time for taking part in an anti-corruption protest. That year, Banksy allowed Moorfields Eye Hospital in London to remove and auction the 2006 “Gangsta Rat” piece he painted on the side of its building. The piece was sold to raise money for the hospital.
2013: In a month-long residency in New York, Banksy bought a beat-up oil painting from a thrift store for $50 and altered the piece by adding a Nazi officer admiring the landscape it depicted. He then covertly returned the doctored work to the charity shop and included a note authenticating it as a Banksy. The charity, Housing Works, sold the piece at auction for $615,000.
2014: A struggling youth club in Bristol, the Broad Plain Boys Club, found a Banksy mural on its doorway. “Mobile Lovers” showed a couple embracing but distracted by their mobile phones. When it became clear it was a Banksy, the local council tried to claim it. Banksy clarified that he intended the piece as a gift to the club, which was facing closure. The club sold the piece for over £400,000 and used the money to stay afloat.
2015: Banksy enlisted dozens of artists to help create his theme park, “Dismaland.” After the park closed, he donated the set pieces and building materials used to create the alternative theme park to “The Jungle,” a camp for migrant refugees in Calais, northern France.
2017: Banksy opened “The Walled Off Hotel” in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Banksy financed the project independently. The hotel has attracted thousands of visitors and its website notes that any profits will go to local projects.
2019: Banksy created a shop called “Gross Domestic Product” in London. The welcome mats he sold there were produced by women in Greek refugee camps using life vests that washed up on shore. Proceeds were donated to Love Welcomes, a group supporting refugees in the camps.
2020: At the peak of the first wave of COVID-19, Banksy unveiled a piece inside Southampton General Hospital that paid tribute to Britain’s National Health Service workers. It showed a boy who had discarded his Batman and Spiderman dolls in favor of a superhero nurse doll. Banksy donated it to the NHS. A year later, the piece fetched £16.8 million at auction, a Banksy record at that time. The proceeds were used to “support the wellbeing of NHS University Southampton Hospital staff and patients,” according to Christie’s. That summer, Banksy also announced he had funded, equipped, and decorated a former French naval vessel to serve as a migrant rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was rechristened the MV Louise Michel, named after a 19th century French anarchist. According to a website for the boat, it has rescued hundreds of migrants. Conservatively, the vessel costs tens of thousands of dollars to operate each month.
2022: A few weeks after Banksy created seven pieces in Ukraine, the artist put a limited edition of 50 prints on sale, priced at £5,000 each. They were offered via the Legacy of War Foundation’s website. The sale raised £250,000 for the NGO.
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