Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Claude Monet
news

Monet painting attacked with red paint and glue in Stockholm is undamaged, Nationalmuseum says

The museum is in contact with the owner, Musée d’Orsay, about reinstalling Le jardin de l’artiste à Giverny in its exhibition

Catherine Hickley
15 June 2023
Share
This screengrab from Återställ Våtmarker's twitter feed, shows activists  smearing paint on Monet's Le jardin de l’artiste à Giverny at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm © Återställ Våtmarker/Twitter

This screengrab from Återställ Våtmarker's twitter feed, shows activists smearing paint on Monet's Le jardin de l’artiste à Giverny at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm © Återställ Våtmarker/Twitter

Environmental activists attacked a painting by Claude Monet with red paint and glue at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm yesterday. The painting, Le jardin de l’artiste à Giverny (1900), is unharmed and the activists were arrested, the museum said in a statement.

The painting was on loan from the Musée d’Orsay for an exhibition at the Nationalmuseum called The Garden – Six Centuries of Art and Nature. “In dialogue with the lender, we’re now looking into the possibilities of reinstalling the artwork in the exhibition,” said Hanna Tottmar, head of press at the museum.

“We distance ourselves from actions where art or cultural heritage are put at risk of damage,” says Per Hedström, the acting director general at the Nationalmuseum. “Cultural heritage has great symbolic value and it is unacceptable to attack or destroy it, for any purpose whatsoever.”

A group called Aterstall Vatmarker (Restore Wetlands) disseminated a video of the incident via Twitter, showing two women smearing red paint on the protective glass covering the painting with one hand, while gluing the other to the glass. According to the Nationalmuseum, the incident occurred yesterday at 2.30 p.m.

Emma & Maj, sjuksköterska respektive sjuksköterskestudent, idag i aktion på Nationalmuseum. Läget är så jäkla kritiskt. Därför satte de röda handavtryck & limmade fast sig på skyddsglaset på Monets kända tavla Konstnärens trädgård i Giverny. #återställvåtmarker pic.twitter.com/Gr0bFzqHDX

— Återställ Våtmarker (@vatmarker) June 14, 2023

The attack is the latest in a series of similar art stunts by climate activists, who have flung or smeared substances including tomato soup, mashed potatoes, paint, glue, cake and a black oily liquid at paintings by artists including Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Vermeer and Gustav Klimt.

Claude MonetVandalismClimate changeClimate protest
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

Exhibitionsnews
1 July 2020

Massive Monet cathedral painting to be installed in Rouen

The 360-degree work by the Iranian architect Yadegar Asisi will be displayed in a rotunda on the banks of the Seine

Catherine Hickley
Conservation & Preservationarchive
31 August 2014

How to put Monet back together again: restoration after vandalism

Tiny paint flakes from damaged work give clues to artist’s technique

Martin Bailey
Museums & Heritagenews
8 November 2022

Following attacks on masterpieces in Italy and Spain, are eco activists winning the argument?

Goya works at the Prado and a Van Gogh painting in Rome were recently targeted

Gareth Harris