The Mona Lisa, the 16th-century portrait of a woman by Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most visited and admired artworks in the world.
It is also one of the most protected, as it is encased in a bulletproof glass and monitored by security cameras and guards.
However, that did not stop a group of environmental activists from throwing soup at the painting on Sunday, in an act of protest against the current food system.
The activists, who are part of a movement called Food Riposte, entered the Louvre Museum in Paris, where the Mona Lisa is displayed, and approached the painting with thermoses filled with soup. They then opened the thermoses and splashed the soup on the glass that covers the painting, while shouting slogans such as “Food is a right, not a privilege” and “We want healthy and sustainable food”. They also wore T-shirts that read “Food Riposte” and held banners that said “Stop the industrial food system”.
The protest caused a security alert and a temporary closure of the museum, as the guards and the police intervened and arrested the activists. The museum staff also checked the painting and cleaned the glass, and confirmed that the painting was not damaged by the soup.
The two activists said that they chose the Mona Lisa as their target because it is a symbol of the cultural and economic power of France, which they accuse of being complicit in the global food crisis. They also said that they wanted to draw attention to the issues of food insecurity, malnutrition, obesity, climate change, biodiversity loss, and animal welfare, which are linked to the industrial food system that dominates the world.
Food Riposte is a movement that was founded in 2023, and has been organizing various actions and campaigns to raise awareness and demand change in the food system. The movement claims to have thousands of supporters and followers, mainly in France, but also in other countries.
The soup attack on the Mona Lisa is not the first time that the painting has been targeted by protesters or vandals.
In 1911, the painting was stolen by a Louvre employee, who wanted to return it to Italy, the birthplace of da Vinci. The painting was recovered two years later, and became more famous after the theft.
In 1956, the painting was damaged by acid and a rock, which prompted the museum to install a protective glass. In 2009, a woman threw a ceramic cup at the painting, but it did not break the glass. Finally, in 2022, a man smeared frosting on the glass, but the painting was not affected.
