On October 9, hands were affixed to Pablo Picasso’s Massacre in Korea, a temporary display at a National Gallery of Victoria show in Melbourne, Australia, aimed at drawing attention to the climate crisis. Police freed the artwork, removing the glue from a protective cover and detaining two activists and an assisting individual. The incident followed a broader pattern of protests targeting iconic works to highlight urgent environmental concerns.
Video coverage later surfaced showing environmental campaigners hurling a beverage at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, a stunt tied to the same activist impulse that seeks to disrupt public display of art for climate messaging.
Earlier this year, on May 25, another dramatic moment unfolded at the Louvre in Paris when a visitor threw a cake at Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The artwork remained intact behind armored glass that has protected it for decades, while security officials foiled the attack and detained the assailant. The episode sits among a long list of incidents where works of art have faced deliberate harm, whether during armed conflicts or as standalone acts of protest.
In the broader context of art security, the Mona Lisa has endured multiple assaults: a 1956 stone thrown by a man with mental health issues caused damage to the painting; a 1974 attack at Tokyo’s National Museum prompted by disability-access concerns; and a 2009 event in which a Russian-born individual attempted to throw the artwork into a display case, a stunt intended to protest citizenship policies. In each case, protective measures and subsequent restorations have preserved the painting’s condition.
Similarly, The Night Watch by Rembrandt has faced attacks over the years. A 1911 stabbing harmed only varnish, while a 1990 assault caused superficial damage from an acid attack — incidents swiftly contained by museum security. A later relocation involving the canvas resulted in the loss of some figures as the painting was adjusted to fit a new space, with a faithful copy kept in a London gallery to preserve the original’s integrity.
Velázquez’s Venus of the Mirror endured an assault in 1914 when a suffragist struck the painting; the attacker received a short prison sentence. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist has also required protection due to past red-paint attacks and subsequent restorations, ultimately being shown behind reinforced glass to guard against further harm.
Picasso’s Guernica has seen its share of vandalism in the modern era, including a 1974 incident involving red paint and a controversial quotation attributed to a New York gallery description; the piece itself was not damaged in the cleanup. Rembrandt’s Danae, attacked in Saint Petersburg in 1985 with sulfuric acid and later reassembled behind armor glass, demonstrates how restoration and protective measures help preserve pieces of immense cultural significance.
Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People saw a marker inscription added in 2003, while Claude Monet’s Pont d’Argenteuil suffered a dented crack during a 2007 incident at the Parisian museum that left visible damage but did not destroy the work. A Cy Twombly untitled piece in Avignon faced a lipstick mark after a kiss framed as an act of love, resulting in a fine and community service rather than a permanent injury to the painting.
Helen Frankenthaler’s The Bay was touched by a small gum stain when a student visitor rested a chewing gum on the work at Detroit’s Institute of Arts in 2006; the paint itself remained intact after restoration. Picasso’s Woman in the Red Armchair was briefly compromised in 2012 when a male visitor sprayed gold paint, though the restoration was able to fully recover the image. These episodes underscore ongoing debates about the vulnerability of masterpieces to vandalism and the balance between accessibility and preservation in major museums.
Beyond paintings, priceless sculptures have suffered damage: Michelangelo’s La Piedad in St. Peter’s Basilica endured hammer blows that damaged limbs and facial features in 1972, while The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen has been attacked multiple times, including arm severing incidents and repeated attempts at decapitation. The Pompidou Center’s Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, a urinal sculpture, also faced vandalism in 2006. These events illustrate the enduring tension between public display and protective security for revered works of art, and they continue to shape museum practices around the world [citation attribution].