Climate activists stuck themselves under a dinosaur skeleton in the Berlin Natural History Museum. Fake blood is thrown at a painting by Toulouse-Lautrec in the Old National Gallery.
The Berlin police were called to two disruptive actions in museums on Sunday. Two climate activists taped themselves to the handrails of a dinosaur skeleton at the Natural History Museum.
The security service alerted the police on Sunday afternoon, said a spokeswoman for the Berlin police. Two women aged 34 and 42 were then found in the museum. They were released from the bars and taken into police custody.
Pictures showed two women wearing orange vests and holding a banner that read, “What if the government can’t handle this?” The protest group “Last Generation” said about the action: “Just like the dinosaurs back then, we are threatened with climate changes that we cannot withstand. If we don’t want to see ourselves threatened with extinction, we must act now.”
An action also triggered a police operation in the Old National Gallery, the background was initially unclear here. A spokesman for the State Museums said that an individual threw an artificial blood liquid at the glass painting “Clown” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the wall covering there in the Impressionist Hall and stuck it to the wall next to the painting. “Before, she had distributed leaflets in the hall.”
The security forces quickly reported the incident to the police, who quickly removed the person from the wall and took him into custody. Other people or works were not affected. “At this point in time, no information can be given about the actual damage; the work in question is now being examined in the in-house restoration workshop.” The “BZ” had previously reported on the case.
Work apparently not badly damaged
“I am shocked by this further senseless attack on art, which in this case obviously cannot be assigned to any climate-politically active group,” said the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, on Sunday evening. According to the current state of knowledge, the work is fortunately not badly damaged, but there was considerable damage in the exhibition room. “Paint and glue must be removed from the fabric-covered wall,” said Parzinger.
“I would like to thank the on-site supervisors for reacting so professionally and for quickly getting the situation under control. We will continue to do everything we can to protect the art in our collections while keeping them accessible with as few barriers as possible. That is our task.” The police initially gave no information on the possible background to the action on Sunday evening. According to the current status, the Old National Gallery, which was closed on Mondays, should reopen on Tuesday as usual.
In both cases, charges were filed for trespassing and property damage.
A week ago, climate activists poured a liquid onto Claude Monet’s painting “Grainstacks” in Potsdam’s Barberini Museum. The group “Last Generation” confessed to the crime and spoke of an attack with mashed potatoes. Three activists were arrested in The Hague on Thursday after an attack on the painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer. (dpa)