The protest at the Prado museum, in which both protesters each stuck an arm to the frames, did not damage any paintings, but caused minor blemishes to their frames, the museum said. Both activists were arrested following the incident on Saturday, police said. They wrote “+1.5°C” on the wall between the two artworks in reference to the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In a tweet, the Prado said: “We condemn the protest that took place at the museum. “The works are undamaged, but the frames have suffered minor imperfections. We are working to get back to normal as soon as possible. We reject the risk of cultural heritage as a means of protest.” Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion released a video online showing the two activists each with one hand pinned to a board before museum security moved in. The team said the two artworks were The Naked Maja and The Clothed Maja. The action was a protest against rising global temperatures that will “cause an unstable climate with serious consequences for the entire planet,” the group said in a statement in Spanish. It is the latest in a series of similar protests by climate activists targeting famous works of art in European cities. On Friday, a group poured pea soup on a Vincent van Gogh masterpiece in Rome. The Sower, an 1888 painting by the Dutch artist depicting a farmer sowing his land under a dominant sun, was displayed behind glass and intact. Four activists were reportedly arrested. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Climate activists from Last Generation called their protest “a desperate and scientifically substantiated cry that cannot be understood as mere vandalism”. They warned that the protest would continue until more attention was paid to climate change. Other actions have used cakes or mashed potatoes in recent weeks. They have targeted masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris or Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. In October, the Just Stop Oil group poured tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in London. All the paintings were covered with glass and were intact.
