Photo: DAVID CANTINIAUX / AFP / Getty Images
A pair of protesters splashed soup on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum In Paris, France, on Sunday (January 29). Videos posted on X showed the two women, identified as Sasha, 24, and Marie-Juliette, 63, opening up their thermoses and throwing tomato soup onto one of the most iconic and recognizable paintings in the world.
The two protesters then ducked underneath the wooden railing and screamed: "What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?"
Museum staff quickly intervened and evacuated the room while staff worked to clean up the mess.
Officials at the Louvre said that the painting was undamaged and has been under a protective cover since 2005. The museum said it would lodge a complaint following the incident, but it is unclear if the two protesters were arrested.
The Mona Lisa was also targeted in 2022 when a protester smeared paint on the painting.