Two environmental activists tossed soup onto the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, advocating for "healthy and sustainable food." However, the painting was shielded by bulletproof glass and appeared to be unaffected by the incident. Visitors in the gallery watched in shock as two women splashed yellow soup onto the Mona Lisa.
The two then climbed under the barrier in front of the artwork, positioning themselves on either side of the splattered painting while raising their right hands in a salute-like gesture. One of them took off her jacket to reveal a white T-shirt featuring the slogan of the environmental activist group 'Riposte Alimentaire' (Food Response) in black letters.
Soup Thrown at Mona Lisa
"What's the most important thing?" they shouted. "Art, or right to a healthy and sustainable food?" They added: "Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work."
Video footage shared on X captured the attack on Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece as well as the audible gasps from visitors. Children's cries could also be heard, suggesting apparent shock at the incident.
Louvre staff acted swiftly to set up black cloth screens around the painting and the protesters, attempting to shield the view of the scene.
However, their efforts were not entirely successful. According to Paris police, two people were arrested in connection with the incident.
This incident comes amid widespread protests by French farmers and is the latest in a series of similar attacks on artworks aimed at advocating for increased efforts to protect the planet.
Riposte Alimentaire operates under the A22 umbrella movement, a collective of protest groups spanning 12 countries. This larger movement includes organizations such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.
With a Purpose
In a statement sent to AFP, Riposte Alimentaire said that the soup-throwing incident marked the "start of a campaign of civil resistance with the clear demand ... of the social security of sustainable food."
Amid days of protests by French farmers advocating for better pay, taxes, and regulations, the government is working to prevent discontent among agricultural workers from spreading, particularly in the months leading up to the European Parliament elections, seen as a crucial test for Emmanuel Macron's government.
Concerns have been raised about how the women managed to bring the soup into the Louvre, given the strict bag controls now common in most major galleries due to numerous past attacks on paintings.
One notable incident includes a mashed potato attack in 2022 by Letzte Generation (Last Generation) activists on Claude Monet's Les Meules (Haystacks) at the Barberini gallery in Potsdam, Germany. The activists involved in that incident later glued their hands to a wall.
Before this incident, Just Stop Oil poured tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London.
The Mona Lisa has been protected by glass since December 1956 when a Bolivian man threw a rock at it, causing damage to the left elbow of the woman shown in the painting.
In May 2022, a man threw a custard pie at the Mona Lisa, saying that artists were not adequately addressing environmental concerns. The glass protecting the painting was upgraded to bulletproof in 2005.
Another incident occurred in 2009 when a woman threw an empty teacup at the Mona Lisa, resulting in a slight scratch on the protective case.
