Just Stop Oil protesters smash glass on painting at National Gallery
www.theguardian.com
Two activists arrested after Rokeby Venus artwork targeted, as dozens of others held after blocking Whitehall

Two activists arrested after Rokeby Venus artwork targeted, as dozens of others held after blocking Whitehall

Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after smashing the glass covering a Diego Velázquez painting at the National Gallery in London, as police detained dozens of others who blocked Whitehall.

Two activists targeted the glass on the Rokeby Venus painting with safety hammers before they were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

The artwork, which was painted by Velázquez in the 1600s, was slashed by the suffragette Mary Richardson in 1914. One of those involved on Monday said: “Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words.”

The Metropolitan police said at least 40 activists who were “slow marching” in Whitehall were also detained and that the road was clear after traffic was stopped for a brief period

  • @brewbellyblueberry@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    -7•1 year ago

    I’m not arguing for the value of the paintings but the idiocy of the protest. If it worked for the suffragettes (where it is even fathom able that it might have some relevance to the protest, unlike here) good for them, but this is nothing like that. This just paints them as idiots and does very little less. A common tactic used by the whatever shitty thing that’s supposedly being protested is to make fools of the protesting party. Even though this is apparently just idiots making everybody in the movement look bad. Yay. Lotta good that does…

    If these idiotic stunts aren’t a smear campaign, these morons are doing their work for them.