Members of Letzte Generation Österreich (Last Generation Austria) tweeted that they had targeted the 1915 Death and Life painting at the Leopold Museum in Vienna to protest their government’s use of fossil fuels. After throwing the liquid at the artwork, which was not damaged, one activist was pushed back by a museum guard, while another stuck his hand in the glass above the painting. The group said it was protesting “oil and gas drilling,” which it called a “death sentence for society.” In a video of the incident, which the group posted online, one of the activists can be heard shouting: “We’ve known about the problem for 50 years – we must finally act or the planet will break.” 🛢️URGENT: Klimt’s “Death and Life” in the Leopold Museum covered in oil🛢️ People of the last generation put oil on Klimt’s painting “Death and Life” in the Leopold Museum today. New oil and gas wells are a death sentence for humanity. pic.twitter.com/4QKAklB9Af — Last Generation Austria (@lastgenAT) November 15, 2022 After the attack, police arrived at the museum and the black liquid, which the activists had brought with hot water under their clothes, was cleaned from the protective glass, the Austrian Press Agency reported. The museum’s restoration team later said that while the painting itself was undamaged, the damage to the glass and safety frame, as well as the wall and floor, was “obvious and significant”. Hans-Peter Wipplinger, director of the museum, told the news agency that climate activists’ concerns were justified, “but attacking artworks is certainly the wrong way to realize the targeted goal of preventing the predicted climate collapse.” . He appealed to the group to find other ways to make their concerns known. Austria’s culture minister also expressed understanding for the activists’ “concerns but also despair” but criticized the form of their protest. “I do not believe that such actions are appropriate, because the question arises whether they lead to a greater lack of understanding rather than a greater awareness of climate catastrophe,” said Andrea Mayer. “In my view, accepting the risk of irreparable damage to works of art is the wrong way to go. Art and culture are allies in the fight against climate catastrophe, not rivals.” The most important stories on the planet. Get all the week’s environmental news – the good, the bad and the must-haves Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Klimt’s work is an Art Nouveau oil painting on canvas depicting death on the left and a group of partially nude people embracing on the right. It is one of the latest works of art to come under fire from climate activists in recent months. In Germany, mashed potatoes were thrown at a Claude Monet painting, while British group Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at London’s National Gallery last month. Activists pour tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery – video Activists also latched onto John Constable’s The Hay Wain at the National Gallery and an early copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.
