Protest in museum – oil attack! Activists deface paintings by Klimt

Climate activists poured oil on the Klimt artwork “Death and Life” on Tuesday morning and then glued themselves to it. “New oil and gas wells are a death sentence for humanity,” they tweeted.

Loud against climate policy
Soon after, a security officer stormed the action and attempted to remove one of the activists. Meanwhile, a woman glued herself to the painting and loudly protested against climate policy. The video shows how the oil runs down the protective glass. Visitors to the Vienna Museum were angry about the action. According to reports, the Viennese police are on the scene with about ten officers. A spokesman for the Leopold Museum said it was necessary to investigate further whether the painting was damaged.

Free entrance to the Leopold Day
On the occasion of Leopoldi Day, there was free admission to the Leopold Museum and OMV acted as sponsor in this context. Despite careful checks – bags had to be handed in, for example – the activists smuggled the liquid under their clothing into the museum in a hot water bottle. Several rooms had to be closed off to visitors and the activists’ details are currently being recorded on site. The liquid had already been wiped off the glass.