At this point, an Italian security guard rips eco-fanatics’ hands from a priceless Botticelli painting in a Florence art gallery, in sharp contrast to guards at the National Gallery in London, who stood by while they did the same.
When the young couple started their brief protest in the Uffizi Gallery on Friday morning, the impatient security guard stormed over to them and yanked their superglued hands away from the Renaissance masterpiece.
It stood in stark contrast to the inaction of British security personnel this month at the Trafalgar Square gallery, where supporters of the Just Stop Oil movement were permitted to alter John Constable’s The Hay Wain with their own interpretation.
Students Hannah Hunt, 23, and Eben Lazarus, 22, from Brighton, were finally detained more than an hour later.
An unidentified man and two women from the climate activist group Ultima Generazione (‘Last Generation’) were responsible for yesterday’s protest in northern Italy.
They unfurled a banner with the words “Last Generation, No Gas, No Coal” on it.
Police escorted the activists out of the gallery after they paid for tickets to enter.
The good news is that because to the “specific precautions in place,” the artwork was not harmed.
The gallery released the following statement: “Today we would have had a significant damage to the work, as happened recently in other museums, if there had not been the particular precautions set for the great masterpieces of the museum a few years ago by the administration.”
The group, however, explained in a statement on their website that they take “great care” and research artwork to avoid causing damage.
They claimed: “We have taken great care not to damage Botticelli’s Primavera in any way.
There was no risk to the canvas, the frame, or the glass that covers it.
To be certain, we talked to restorers who suggested that we use a glue made for glass and frames.
As our governments do with the one planet we have at our disposal, it is crucial that we cherish art instead of destroying it.
The protest comes after members of the Just Stop Oil movement angered the public earlier this month when they staged a demonstration at the National Gallery by reinterpreting John Constable’s The Hay Wain with their own version that included double yellow lines, pollution, and a washing machine.
To protest against UK oil and gas developments on July 4, two student eco activists painted over the iconic picture in London with a faux “undated” version that included aircraft.
They then glued their hands to the frame.
The group claimed that their imaginative recreation of the magnificent 1821 painting, which shows a rural scene on the River Stour in Suffolk, represents a nightmare image that “illustrates how oil will devastate our countryside.”
Experts and art historians have all expressed concern that the 19th-century masterpiece may have been irreparably damaged by the vandals, two Brighton University students who have previously participated in Just Stop Oil demonstrations.
The Hay Wain has minor damage to its frame and varnish, which have both been repaired before it is rehung in Gallery Room 34, according to a later statement from the National Gallery.
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Dr. Adrian Hilton once remarked: “How is this even feasible in the National Gallery?
It’s a masterwork by John Constable, a national treasure. Is covering it up or, God forbid, destroying it this simple?
Similar demonstrations by members of Just Stop Oil have taken place in art galleries in Glasgow, Manchester, and London over the past month.
On Wednesday, the group blocked a motorway, resulting in nine hours of gridlock on the M25.
Three eco-activists who are suspected of climbing onto the gantry above the M25 and causing nine hours of traffic mayhem will go on trial after entering a not guilty plea.
Following a Just Stop Oil rally on Wednesday morning, Cressida Gethin, 20, Alexander Wilcox, 21, and Emma Mani, 45, were charged with producing a public disturbance.
They are accused of scaling an overhead gantry and raising flags to force the closure of the road in both directions.
On Friday, they entered a not guilty plea in west London’s Ealing Magistrates’ Court.
The offenders are accused of having fastened themselves to Surrey’s Junctions 14 and 15.
London is encircled by the 117-mile M25.
Gethin, from Dorstone in Herefordshire, Wilcox, from South Fifth Street in Milton Keynes, and Mani, from High Street in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, were all granted bail and were later freed.
On August 19, they will return to Inner London Crown Court.
According to Beata Murphy, the prosecutor at Ealing magistrates court, “Police were told that demonstrators were planning to cause disturbance on the M25 and consequently police came at the spot.”
“Because it was just too risky and the demonstrators kept going across the gantry, it was decided to stop the traffic on the road.”
Long tailbacks may be seen in both directions.
Due to crew transportation issues, some flights at Heathrow Airport were unable to take off.
According to testimony given in court, a total of 26 aircraft were delayed as a result of the Just Stop Oil protest at the Poyle Interchange, resulting in “great loss to the airlines.”
The demonstrators wore safety harnesses and stayed attached to the gantry, Ms. Murphy continued.
Protesters “became limp and did not obey until police were on top of the gantry, putting themselves and officers in danger.”
John Briant, Mani’s defence attorney, stated: “This is a difficult case involving numerous statements and witnesses.
I expect complicated legal issues, so having the case tried in the crown court makes perfect sense.
There will be arguments based on Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Convention.
The question of whether the action constituted a public nuisance will be the subject of legal disputes.
If it constituted a public nuisance, was there a valid defence?
There will be discussions regarding negligence, the police’s response, and whether or not filing charges is appropriate, he continued.
The “extraordinary legal complexity” of the case led to its referral to the crown court.
Just Stop Oil declared the M25 a site of civil resistance this week in a statement that was made public just before the protests.