After Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”a painting by Monet or even an Aston Martin dealership, activists from the environmental collective Just Stop Oil attacked this Thursday the painting “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer in the Netherlands. They glued themselves to the glass protecting the canvas before being arrested by the police.
The work, an oil painting on canvas made in 1655, is exhibited in The Hague, at the Mauritshuis museum. It represents a bust portrait of a young woman, unidentified. The painting is frequently nicknamed “The Mona Lisa of the North”. Two people approached the painting and a third threw an unknown substance on it, but the work, protected under glass, was not damaged, the Mauritshuis said in a press release.
The painting will be exhibited again “as soon as possible”
“Around 2 p.m., two people stuck to the earring of the Young Girl with The Pearl by Johannes Vermeer”, indicates the Mauritshuis. “One person stuck their head against the painting, which was protected by glass, and the other person stuck their hand against the wall where the painting hangs. A third person threw an unknown substance at the painting,” the museum continued. “Our experts immediately inspected the painting. Fortunately, it was not damaged”. The painting will be exhibited again “as soon as possible”, said the museum.
“Art cannot defend itself and attempt to damage it for any reason, is something we strongly condemn,” the Mauritshuis added. Police in The Hague said on Twitter that they had arrested three people at a museum for “public violence against property”.
Dozens of people were gathered inside the museum awaiting information about the incident, while security guards prevented them from getting too close to the other paintings. The entrance to the room where the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” normally sits was blocked by a large oil painting reproduction and a guard said it would likely be closed for the rest of the day. Two police vans were parked outside the museum as the investigation continued.