Three people have been arrested in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague after a climate change protest involving Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’.

A video circulating on social media shows two men next to the priceless work of art, both of whom are wearing a t-shirt emblazoned ‘just stop oil’. One appears to have glued his hand to the wall.

The other is shown glueing his head to the glass covering the painting, while the first person tips a can of tomatoes down his neck, to the dismay of other visitors.

As yet is is unclear if the painting was damaged but NOS said this did not appear to be the case. Police say the three were picked up for ‘attacking property’.

The room where the painting is hanging has been closed to the public.

The Mauritshuis issued a short statement condemning the action. ‘Art is defenceless and we condemn all attempts to damage it, for whatever reason,’ the museum said. ‘We will not make any further comment because we don’t want to honour this action with extra attention.’

Concern

Dutch museum bosses had expressed concern earlier this week about the new trend in climate change activism, which involves throwing food at priceless works of art.

BREEK – Meisje met de parel van Johannes Vermeer besmeurd in #Mauritshuis. pic.twitter.com/XzAZTOoBv9

— Steven Bakker (@Kolpen) October 27, 2022

In May, cake was smeared on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris and this month Just Stop Oil protesters threw tomato soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in the National Gallery in London. A work by Monet was also smeared with mashed potato in Potsdam.

More to follow