Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Protesters then glue themselves to wall beneath painting at National Gallery in London

Activists from Just Stop Oil have thrown tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London.

There were gasps, roars and a shout of “Oh my gosh!” in room 43 of the gallery as two young supporters of the climate protest group threw the liquid over the painting, which is protected by glass, just after 11am.

They removed jackets to reveal Just Stop Oil T-shirts before gluing themselves to the wall beneath the artwork, which is one of the gallery’s most important treasures.

“What is worth more, art or life?” said one of the activists, Phoebe Plummer, 21, from London. She was accompanied by 20-year-old Anna Holland, from Newcastle. “Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?

“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis, fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”

National Gallery staff quickly cleared the room. The gallery has since confirmed the painting was not harmed, saying in a statement that after the protesters threw “what appears to be tomato soup” over the painting, “the room was cleared of visitors and police were called. Officers are now on the scene. There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.”

For the past two weeks, the group has been staging sit-down protests on roads around central London, infuriating drivers and commuters, but Friday’s action appeared to be an escalation of its tactics.

The protest sparked mixed reactions and plenty of anger. Sophie Wright, 43, from Surrey, initially condemned the action but changed her mind when she learned the painting was unlikely to have been permanently damaged.

“I support the cause and by the looks of it they are considered protests, with a purpose of raising awareness and shocking [people],” she said. “So long as they don’t hurt people or put people in danger, then I support them.”

But a witness, who declined to give his name, said he could understand their cause but worried about targeting “a beautiful piece of art, which is the best of humanity”. He added: “They may be trying to get people to think about the issues but all they end up doing is getting people really annoyed and angry.

“The typical unthinking individual who doesn’t think about the big issues of the planet is not the kind of person who walks around the National Gallery.”

Alienating people from their cause was a concern, said Alex De Koning, a Just Stop Oil spokesperson, who spoke to the Guardian outside the gallery after the room was cleared. “But this is not The X Factor,” he added. “We are not trying to make friends here, we are trying to make change, and unfortunately this is the way that change happens.”

The activists were subsequently arrested by Met police officers for criminal damage and aggravated trespass and taken into custody at a central London police station.

The canvas of the painting is protected with a glass screen, a factor Just Stop Oil said they had taken into account.

The picture is one of the most famous images in the world, painted by the Van Gogh when he lived in the south of France. The image, like so much of the Dutch artist’s work, celebrates the beauty of ordinary everyday objects – a flower, a chair, a shoe. In 1987, one of the series was sold for $39m.

cover photo: Activists throw tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at National Gallery – video