Museums are gearing up – sticky climate chaos focuses on art

The glue madness never stops: After Dresden, Frankfurt and Berlin, activists of the “last generation” in Munich have once again stuck to a painting. Their target was Paul Peter Rubens’ Massacre of the Innocents from 1612. It depicts the murder of Jewish children in Bethlehem at the behest of King Herod.

On Thursday, activists in Berlin had clung to the frame of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s painting ‘Rest on the Flight into Egypt’ from the early 16th century. “In the photo, Mary, Joseph and Jesus were on their way to the safe harbor. But humanity is on the fast track to the deadly climate catastrophe,” the protest movement tweeted.

Because the image painted on wood is glazed, no glue has come on the panel. The precious Renaissance frame, on the other hand, needs to be restored.

Glue protests also in the Uffizi and the Vatican
In July, two activists used the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence to protest. Amid crowds of tourists, a man and a young woman stuck their palms to the protective pane of Botticelli’s painting “Primavera” (“Spring”) before the two were led away by summoned carabinieri.

The Vatican was also not spared: here activists clung to the world-famous Laocoön group in the Vatican Museums.

attention as target
The Austrian museums are also following the latest actions by climate activists. “Activism in museums is a new security risk,” explains Nina Auinger-Sutterlüty of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It’s clear that activists are all about attracting attention, not damaging works of art. Nevertheless, according to the KHM, preparations are already being made internally for similar plaque attacks.

Next week, two trials will begin in Germany against “last generation” activists who have glued themselves to autobahns. There are now 114 such cases in court.