A group of climate activists who disrupted major galleries this week to send a message to the UK government have struck again — this time at the Royal Academy of Art in London. On Tuesday morning, protesters from Just Stop Oil (JSO) taped themselves to a frame containing a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” believed to have been painted by two students of the Italian Renaissance master. Activists also spray-painted the demand “No New Oil” in white under the painting, a gallery representative confirmed to CNN. Leonardo originally created ‘The Last Supper’, which depicts the moment Jesus tells his 12 disciples that he will be betrayed by one of them, as a fresco in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan between 1495 and 1497. His copy painting in The Possession of the Demonstrators, attributed to Giampietrino and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, was painted about 15 years later. Just Stop Oil protesters are calling on the UK government to block licenses for future oil and gas extraction and warning of a bleak future if action is not taken to slow the effects of climate change. Climate protesters plastered a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting. Source: James Manning/PA Images/Getty Images According to The Independent, a protester at the gallery likened the government to Jesus’ betrayer, Judas, and said Just Stop Oil had chosen this “wonderfully beautiful painting” because the future is “bleaker than ever”. Four protesters remained for more than three hours in the room where the painting is housed, which was closed to the public because of the demonstration, before being removed by police, according to the gallery. The spokesman added that the condition of the painting is being assessed by Royal Academy conservators. The protest is the fifth time members of the group have been linked to a famous work of art in their series of protests over the past week. The previous incidents involved a Vincent Van Gogh work at London’s Courtauld Gallery and a JMW Turner painting at Manchester Art Gallery. Just Stop Oil also interrupted the Formula 1 British Grand Prix as it sat on the Silverstone circuit on Sunday. CNN reported that the most recent protest took place on Monday at London’s National Gallery, where activists covered John Constable’s famous landscape painting “The Hay Wain” with an altered version of the image before taping their hands to the frame. Their vision for the painting, depicting a rural Suffolk scene, replaced a river with a tarmac road and included factory chimneys and airplanes overhead. The group has warned that the natural beauty of some of the landscapes they have chosen is at dire risk due to climate change. The team modified a John Constable painting on Monday before attaching it to the frame. JSO has been stuck in five board frames for the past week. Source: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Images/Reuters Just Stop Oil identified the protesters at the National Gallery as students Hannah Hunt and Eben Lazarus. London’s Metropolitan Police previously confirmed to CNN that two people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and later released on bail pending further enquiries. Following the latest protest at the Royal Academy of Art, Just Stop Oil released a statement identifying some of the protesters. Lucy Porter, a 47-year-old former teacher, said: “We don’t have time, to say we do is a lie. We need to stop all new oil and gas right now, we will stop disrupting art institutions as soon as possible. The government is making a substantial statement to do so. Until then, the disruption will continue so young people know we are doing everything we can for them. There is nothing I would rather do.” Another member, 21-year-old art student Jessica Agar, further called for art institutions to join their cause. “If the managers of this gallery really believe that art has the power to change the world, then I demand that they claim that power, close and refuse to open until the government commits not to move on to new oil,” he said. The Royal Academy of Art has not commented on Agar’s request to close the gallery.
