As a result of the various protests carried out by organizations such as Just Stop Oil or Última Generación, the debate has come to light as to whether the ways of raising our voices for the future of the world are correct or if these actions are being taken too far. Whatever your opinion, no one can question the courage of activists who are giving their all to bring attention to such an important issue despite the hate and other legal consequences they have drawn upon themselves.
On the legal side, members of the Just Stop Oil group have faced all kinds of punishment, including months in prison, electronic monitoring, or fines. Although there may be those who would like harsher sentences for those involved in damaging works of art with centuries of history behind each brushstroke, the truth is that there have even been judges who applaud these acts, as in the case against the protesters who stuck their head to The girl of the pearl, by Johannes Vermeer, in The Hague, the Netherlands. (You can read more about this topic here.)
Added to this case is the arrest of the two young people who glued their hands to the frame of the painting. Peach Trees in Blossompainted by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. On November 23, Louis McKechnie, 22, and Emily Brocklebank, 23, were sentenced in a UK court for causing damages worth around £2,000 (almost £2,400). dollars) at the Courtauld Gallery in London, England.
Contrary to the prosecutor in the case mentioned above, the district judge, Neeta Minhas, did not find the fact of damaging a frame with “significant historical and artistic value” at all inspiring, since although the painting as such did not suffer any substantial damage , the painting is older than the work itself, which adds a high value that the judge did not go unnoticed when passing sentence.
BREAKING: Just Stop Oil protesters have glued themselves to a Vincent Van Gogh painting at London’s Courtauld Gallery. More follows… pic.twitter.com/5a1ZblKgzu
—TalkTV (@TalkTV) June 30, 2022
An 18th century frame hundreds of years old has sustained permanent damage. It is not in a state where it can return to its original state. I find both of you guilty of criminal damage, having no legal excuse for causing damage, but you did so recklessly.
It is worth mentioning that McKechnie, originally from Weymouth, Dorset, has previously been in prison for similar offences, including breaching a court order which was won over roadblocks and another time for tying himself to a goal post at a football match. the Premier League. This time he was jailed for three weeks, while his partner received a suspended sentence, although he too will be under an electronically monitored curfew for six weeks.
Something that did not go unnoticed is the fact that the activists’ defense lawyer, Francesca Cociani, argued that the action committed against the frame could increase the value of the work, to which the gallery’s curator, Karen Serres, responded with a emphatic “no”, because he does not believe that it can be sold in that state.