Activists from Just Stop Oil have been arrested after throwing tins of soup over Vincent Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers painting at the National Gallery - and then gluing themselves to a nearby wall.
A video has emerged on Twitter of the incident at the London gallery this morning. Two young women identified themselves as Anna Holland, 20, and 21-year-old Phoebe Plummer.
The pair can be seen in the clip kneeling down in front of the already defaced painting holding tins of Heinz Tomato Soup, reports the Mirror.
In a tweet from the Metropolitan Police Events account, the force said: "Officers were rapidly on scene at the National Gallery this morning after two Just Stop Oil protesters threw a substance over a painting and then glued themselves to a wall.
"Both have been arrested for criminal damage & aggravated trespass. Officers are now de-bonding them."
Just Stop Oil has been holding protests for the last fortnight in London - part of a series of high profile actions by climate activists targeting major works of art around the world.
The Van Gogh work - worth £76million - is fortunately protected by a sheet of glass and is unlikely to have been damaged.
Several visitors to the gallery had gathered at the scene, many recording on their phones. The choice of protest was supposed to symbolise the fact that many families in the UK can't afford to heat a tin of soup due to the rise in the cost of living.
The activists said the act of vandalism was part of a sustained campaign to get the UK Government to stop all new oil and gas projects.
Cake has previously been smeared across the Mona Lisa in Paris while other activists have glued their hands to masterpieces by Botticelli and Boccioni.
While Two Extinction Rebellion protesters were arrested at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia last weekend after gluing themselves to the 1951 Picasso painting Massacre in Korea.
One of the protestors in London today shouted: "What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? More than justice?
"Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people? The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil prices. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can't even afford to heat a tin of soup."
She started to add "meanwhile, crops are failing..." before a gallery security guard arrived and moved onlookers away and the clip comes to an end. The demonstration has been met with a mixed response.
One person wrote on social media: "This doesn't help anything, just criminal damage."
The stunt, which was carried out at 11am this morning came as the group's disruptive protests continue into a 14th day.
The activist group claim it is engaging in an "act of resistance" against a criminal government and "will not stop" until new oil and gas projects are halted.
The National Gallery said in a statement: "At just after 11am this morning two people entered Room 43 of the National Gallery.
"The pair appeared to glue themselves to the wall adjacent to Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888). They also threw a red substance - what appears to be tomato soup - over the painting.
"The room was cleared of visitors and police were called. Officers are now on the scene. There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed."
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