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Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is undoubtedly one of the most iconic paintings of all time. The world-famous masterpiece is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it attracts countless admirers from across the globe every year. While the museum boasts several legendary artworks in its collections, the fascination for the Mona Lisa remains unmatched. It is perhaps for this reason that two protesters chose this painting in order to send a message. According to reports, around 10 am local time on January 28, 2024, two people threw pumpkin soup at the Mona Lisa. They crossed the barricade and gave a short speech to the stunned onlookers.
The “Mona Lisa” was the target of a ‘soup attack’ recently. Photo Credit: AFP
In video footage that has since gone viral, the two activists can be seen hurling orangish liquid at the painting. They can be heard asking “What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?” They added, “Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work”. They also identified themselves as belonging to ‘Riposte Alimentaire,’ an environmental movement. Museum officials then descended on the scene, installing barriers in front of them. The Paris prosecutor’s office said both activists had been detained.
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Small quantities of food are allowed inside the premises of the Louvre, but visitors are prohibited from eating in the exhibition rooms. The museum revealed the protesters carried the soup inside a coffee thermos. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass. The Louvre has confirmed that the painting has suffered “no damage”. The room it is displayed in was evacuated following the attack. However, it was quickly cleaned up and reopened to the public after around an hour.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati reacted to the attack on X. She wrote, “The Mona Lisa, as our heritage, belongs to future generations. No cause can justify targeting it”.
Mona Lisa Soup Attack: Museum officials say that the painting has not been damaged. Photo Credit: AFP
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Riposte Alimentaire (“Food counterattack”) has claimed official responsibility for the act. The group has called it the “start of a campaign of civil resistance with the clear demand…: social security of sustainable food”. In a series of posts on X, it has explained its stance in further detail. “In France, one in three people cannot afford three meals a day. At the same time, 20% of food produced is thrown away. Our model stigmatises the most precarious and does not respect our fundamental right to food,” it wrote. Sunday’s action comes as French farmers have been protesting for days to demand higher prices, lower taxes and looser regulations, reported AFP.
This is not the first time da Vinci’s masterpiece has been targeted. In 1956, a Bolivian man had thrown a rock at the painting, damaging the figure’s left elbow. It has since been kept behind a safety glass, which was made bulletproof in 2005. In 2009, a woman hurled an empty teacup at the Mona Lisa, which slightly scratched the case. In May 2022, a man threw a custard pie at her, saying artists were not focusing enough on “the planet”.
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