Fossil fuel activists in new museum protest

Attack on Claude Monet painting is the latest in series targeting priceless works

An art gallery in the German city of Potsdam has become the latest target for climate protesters after members of a group called Letzte Generation, which translates as Last Generation, threw mashed potato at Claude Monet's painting Les Meules (Haystacks) and then glued their hands to the wall.

The incident at the Museum Barberini was another in a string of attacks on works of art by climate protesters across Europe.

In July, two members of an activist group in Italy targeted Sandro Botticelli's Primavera in Florence's Uffizi gallery, and the Royal Academy and National Gallery in London have both been the scenes of similar protests, most recently when tomato soup was thrown at Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers.

In a video released to coincide with the incident in Potsdam, one of the attackers said: "People are starving, people are freezing, people are dying… We are in a climate catastrophe and all you are afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting. You know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid because science tells us that we won't be able to feed our families in 2050.

"Does it take mashed potatoes on a painting to make you listen?," the video continued. "This painting is not going to be worth anything if we have to fight over food. When will you finally start to listen? When will you finally start to listen and stop business as usual?"

Letzte Generation takes its name from its members' belief that they are the last generation whose actions can make a difference over climate issues before irreparable damage is done.

Previously, they have staged a hunger strike outside Berlin's Parliament building, the Reichstag, and glued themselves to busy motorways.

"Facing this reality, we accept high (fines), criminal charges and deprivation of liberty undaunted," said a statement on the group's website.

German news agency dpa reported that four people had been arrested, and a museum spokesperson said that the painting was protected by glass and there did not appear to be any damage, so it should be back on display by Wednesday. The protesters' gluing to the wall had been dealt with "relatively easily".

"While I understand the activists' urgent concern in the face of the climate catastrophe, I am shocked by the means with which they are trying to lend weight to their demands," said museum director Ortrud Westheider in a statement released to the media.

In a tweet, the group added "If it takes a painting — with mashed potatoes or tomato soup thrown at it — to make society remember that the fossil fuel course is killing us all: Then we'll give you mashed potatoes on a painting!"