The origins of love and the spirituality of beauty are several of the many interpretations art critics have described regarding Sandro Botticelli‘s The Birth of Venus (1485–1486). But yesterday, February 13, the Renaissance painting was overlaid with images of widespread destruction and ecological collapse as two activists part of the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group staged a protest at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery to raise awareness to climate change.
“The government continues to pretend that fields did not burn in January,” shouted one of the protesters, “that water will not be a problem this summer, that houses destroyed by floods are accidental events and not caused by human choices. And instead of dealing with these real problems, it makes absurd laws”.
Museums have been ground zero for climate protests over the last few years, with the Mona Lisa and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring being some of the many artworks targeted. Following a string of similar incidents, Italian parliament recently pressed to harshen the punishments for those who damage cultural sites and monuments. The two activists are currently in custody.
