Botticelli's Birth of Venus Targeted by Climate Activists in Florence - ARTnews
Botticelli's <em>Birth of Venus</em> Targeted by Climate Activists in Florence
Two climate activists affixed images of environmental destruction to the glass panel protecting Botticelli’s fifteenth century masterpiece The Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The activists were from the group Last Generation, a national student-led alliance that selected its name because they consider themselves to be the last generation before reaching a tipping point in the earth’s climate system. The photos they overlaid on The Birth of Venus depicted a flooded Tuscan town.
“The government continues to pretend that fields did not burn in January, that water will not be a problem this summer, that houses destroyed by floods are accidental events and not caused by human choices,” one of the protestors stated. “And instead of dealing with these real problems, it makes absurd laws”.
They were subsequently removed from the gallery and taken to a police station, reported France 24.
In November, a judge in Florence ruled that two activists who glued their hands to the glass protecting another Boticelli canvas in the Uffizi in 2022 were not guilty of committing a felony.
In January, a law increasing penalties for those who damage monuments and cultural sites was approved by the Italian parliament. This comes after a wave of ongoing climate protests has gripped Europe.
Last Generation began its peaceful protests in Italy in 2022, prior to the country’s general election. During these protests, activists often pleaded politicians to prioritize climate change.
Italy is expected to produce significantly higher emissions that those slated for its 2030 target, the European Commission said recently.
Throughout Europe, there have been a number of climate–related protests, including most recently the Mona Lisa being splashed with soup, as well as Monet’s Le Printemps.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”