Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pasted over a famous Picasso painting at London’s National Gallery on Wednesday in a protest over arms sales to Israel.
The activists from group Youth Demand pasted a photo of a Gazan mother and child over the glass of Picasso’s 1901 painting ‘Motherhood (La Maternité).
The protesters also poured red paint over the floor room 43 at the gallery in central London’s Trafalgar Square shortly before noon.
The group said they were taking the action in a bid to force ministers to implement an arms embargo on Israel.
The image pasted over the Picasso painting was taken by Palestinian journalist Ali Jadallah and shows a distressed mother and child amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Our government is arming Israel to carry out a genocide against Palestinians and killing without restrain in Lebanon.
“It can’t be all carrots and no sticks: a two-way arms embargo is the least Britain can do to stop displacement, destruction and death.”
The group was also responsible for painting the words “genocide conference” at the front entrance of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last month.
In a statement, a National Gallery spokesperson said the painting was not harmed.
In footage of the incident, a member of gallery staff could be seen detaining a protester.
“One was apprehended after initially attempting to attach what appeared to be a piece of paper to an artwork. Some paint was thrown on the floor,” said a spokesperson.
“Police attended and arrested the pair. The room is currently closed.
“There has been no damage to any paintings.”
A Met Police spokesperson confirmed: “Officers arrested two people on suspicion of criminal damage, both of which are in custody.”
The room housing the painting later re-opened at 2.30pm.
It comes after three supporters of Just Stop Oil threw tomato soup at two Sunflowers paintings by Vincent van Gogh last month.
They targeted the precious paintings - Sunflowers 1889 and Sunflowers 1888 - with Heinz soup on September 27 - just an hour after two others were jailed for a similar protest action in 2022.
Anna Holland, 22, and Phoebe Plummer, 23, were convicted of criminal damage for their 2022 attack on the Van Gogh paintings as it hung in the National Gallery.
Staff rushed to take Sunflowers from the wall and were relieved to find the artwork had escaped damage due to its protective glass screen.
However, soup dripped on to the 17th Century Italian frame, causing damage estimated to be worth £10,000.
