After the mashed potatoes attack on a Monet painting by climate activists, the Barberini Museum has announced stricter controls. Because the frame of the work of art was damaged, claims for damages are being examined.
After the attack by climate activists on Claude Monet’s painting “Grainstacks” (1890), the Potsdam Museum Barberini has extended the controls on visitors. “Bag checks are taking place as part of the tightened security measures,” a museum spokeswoman told rbb on Monday. Furthermore, only bags that are no larger than DIN A4 may be taken into the exhibition.
According to the “Last Generation” climate protection protest group, a man and a woman spilled mashed potatoes on the painting on Sunday. The group called on politicians to take effective measures to limit climate change. The glazed picture was examined after the attack and was not damaged, according to the museum.
The painting remained intact because it was protected by a glass plate, but the frame of the picture and surrounding walls were damaged, said the director of the Barberini Museum, Ortrud Westheider, the rbb. “It’s a historic, carved frame from the time and from Monet. Gold and stucco have flaked off due to the moisture and it needs to be extensively restored.”
Five to six young people would have committed the crime together. Two threw mashed potatoes at the painting, the others filmed and raised the alarm in another room, the museum director said. Westheider explained that she is examining claims for damages against the alleged perpetrators together with the lawyers from the Hasso Plattner Foundation. The amount of damage is still unclear.
During the attack, the two climate activists carried shoulder bags that corresponded to the size that could be taken into the exhibition, according to a museum spokeswoman. “The mashed potatoes were in small containers that could theoretically have been worn on the body without being noticed.”
The police are investigating two suspects for property damage and trespassing, said a police spokeswoman. They are accused of splashing the painting with a yellow liquid on Sunday afternoon. Then the two would have stuck near the picture with one hand each.
The foundation of the museum founder and multi-billionaire Hasso Plattner acquired Monet’s picture in New York in 2019 for almost 111 million euros. “Mr. Plattner is very affected,” said the museum spokeswoman. “We coordinate our approach closely with him.”
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, October 24, 2022, 12:15 p.m