The rich and their pollution

This isn’t the first time that Just Stop Oil has led a protest targeting famous artworks and public buildings. Last year two activists threw cans of tomato soup on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers,” which is also at the National Gallery in order to protest fossil fuel extraction. The painting was not damaged as it was covered with glass.

The group posted a video of the incident on X, formerly known as Twitter, and stated, “ Our government have revealed plans for MORE oil licenses, knowing it will kill millions. In response, two supporters of Just Stop Oil smashed the Rokeby Venus — slashed by Mary Richardson in 1914.”

As stated in the tweet, the two activists chose the 17-century oil painting as it has been previously slashed as part of the suffragette movement calling for women’s rights in 1914.

“Women did not get the vote by voting. It is time for deeds, not words,” the video shows the protesters telling people in the museum after hammering the glass panel. “Politics is failing us. It failed women in 1914 and it is failing us now.”

The painting was previously targeted in 1914 by suffragette Mary Richardon who slashed the painting several times in protest of the imprisonment of fellow women’s rights activist Emmeline Pankhurst. The painting was repaired following the protest.

The National Gallery posted on X about the incident and said that the painting has since been removed from the display so it can be examined by conservators.