In a protest on Wednesday June 14, environmental activists from Restore Wetlands smeared red paint over the protective glass of Claude Monet’s ‘Artist’s Garden at Giverny’ (1900) in the Nationalmuseum of Sweden. The two activists, who were identified as Emma Johanna Fritzdotter and Maj by Restore Wetlands on social media posts, then proceeded to stick their hands to the glass. The two protesters were eventually arrested by authorities in Stockholm.

“The pandemic was nothing compared to the collapse of the climate,” Fritzdotter said in Swedish during the action. “We can’t even imagine what will happen next.”

Activists used red handprints to draw attention to how climate change is also a “health crisis that is already taking people’s lives”, according to the group’s message. The group explained how lush gardens, such as the one depicted in Monet’s targeted painting, “will soon be a thing of the past” as carbon emissions continue to deteriorate the environment.

Restore Wetlands is a Swedish environmental group that has called on the country’s government to help reduce carbon emissions through the restoration of its bogs, wetland ecosystems that make up 15% of Sweden’s land area. These wetlands are also important carbon stores threatened by forestry and mining.

The Nationalmuseum told Hyperallergic that the painting was loaned to the institution as part of The Garden – Six centuries of art and nature exposure. Museum officials said that although the artwork was undamaged after a thorough inspection, restorers had to remove some glue and paint from the frame. They are now looking to restore the paint.

“We are moving away from actions where art or cultural heritage is endangered,” Nationalmuseum acting director general Per Hedström said in a statement.

Hedström went on to condemn the action, saying “cultural heritage has great symbolic value” and that under no circumstances is it acceptable “to attack or destroy it”.

Josefin Eidrup Dahlberg, spokesperson for Restore Wetlands, said Hyperallergic that the two activists have not yet been released despite the museum confirming that the painting was not damaged, and adding that the action was a “harmless protest”.

“This painting is a perfect symbol of everything we love and cherish: beauty, nature and serenity. All the things we want to take for granted in our lives, but due to the impending climate catastrophe, we cannot,” Dahlberg said. “The whole world is on fire and people are dying, but those in power keep increasing emissions.”

Hyperallergic contacted the authorities in Stockholm for more information regarding the status of detained protesters.

This demonstration is the latest in a series of environmental actions involving historical works of art. In April, activists attacked one of the Edgar Degas‘ballerina sculptures at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Other actions have also targeted the work of Johannes Vermeer “A Girl with an Earring” (1665), “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh (1888) at the National Gallery in London, Rome Fountain of the Barcacciaby Sandro Botticelli “Primavera” (1480) at the Uffizi Gallery, and “Laocoon and His Sons” located in the Vatican.

These climate protests have sparked a heated debate over whether targeting historic artwork is an effective mode of protest against the scourge of climate change, with some museum leaders quarrel that activists “seriously underestimate the fragility” of these works which “must be preserved as part of our global cultural heritage”, according to a open letter published by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in November. Others have decried hypocrisy of those who value objects to the detriment of the well-being of humans and the environment.

“As peaceful, nonviolent climate movements grow around the world, actions will continue,” Dahlberg said. Hyperallergic. “Ordinary people will not stop civil resistance until politicians stop their broadcasts and secure the lives of billions of people whose health and safety are now at stake.”