Two climate protestors who glued their hands to the frame of ‘Sistine Madonna’ in Germany received pardoned from court.
On August 23, 2022, the two protestors – a man and a woman – entered the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden, Germany. There, they superglued their hands to the frame of the iconic 16th century ‘Sistine Madonna’ by Raphael. The two were removed after much efforts and handed over to the cops. While the act did not directly damage the painting, it did damage the finish of the frame surrounding it. The museum had to remove the work, which is one of the highlights of the place, for repair (which reportedly cost €2,300).
The two protestors were identified to be part of the German climate action group Letzte Generation (Last Generation). The Dresden State Art Collection filed a lawsuit against the two protestors citing damage to their property. They also banned the two from visiting all 15 museums managed by them in Germany. In 2023, when the case began, the prosecutors demanded each protestor to pay €1,500. The defense objected, and the Dresden District Court finally sentenced them to pay €600 each.
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However, further appeal has now led the Dresden Regional Court to further reduce the penalty to €300 each. This amount was further waived off considering the protestors had paid the museum upwards of €2,000 since the case began. The decision came in stark contrast to similar cases where climate protestors attacking museums and artworks have been getting convicted and jailed or fined.
