Two climate activists who glued themselves to a Raphael painting in Germany have been hit with a $1,600 fine

In August last year, two members of the German environmental activist group Letzte Generation (Last Generation) walked into the Old Masters picture gallery in Dresden and stuck their hands to the frame of Raphael’s 16.emasterpiece of the last century, Sistine Madonna. Now city officials are calling for the protesters to be punished.

According to a report from dpa German Press Agency.

While Raphael’s painting remained unscathed, Beyer and Grunst’s demonstration left traces of glue on its frame. The gallery estimated property damage at approximately €2,300 ($2,560) and reported an additional loss of revenue of €7,000 ($7,793) for closing the facility after the incident.

Citing “property damage harmful to the community”, the Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, or SKD) filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office and sued for damages. Beyer and Grunst have been banned from all SKD sites.

In a statement released after the protestthe two activists made the link between the climate crisis and Raphaël’s painting.

“The international renown Sistine Madonna is a powerful symbol: Mary and Jesus look to the future with fear. They look forward to the death of Christ on the cross,” Grunst said. “An equally predictable death will also be the result of climate collapse. And everywhere in the world!”

The couple said their act was done in solidarity with Christian Bläul, a member of the Letzte generation, who had been arrested after sticking his hands on a motorway in Stockholm, Sweden, a week earlier. Bläul was sentenced to nine days in prison for this act.

“Climate catastrophe is an unprecedented threat of incredible proportions,” Beyer said after the Old Masters Picture Gallery protest. “Deadly droughts, scorching heat, devastating forest fires: this will increase dramatically in the years to come. Not just here in Germany… but worldwide!

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