A sticking action by the climate group Last Generation was prevented by the security staff in the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Two activists wanted to cover the safety glass of the painting “The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) with a modified image they had brought with them, the police said. It showed the wanderer in front of an apocalyptic instead of a foggy background.
After being prevented from approaching the original painting by guards, the two women laid their version of the painting they had brought with them on the ground and sprinkled it with ashes. The summoned police gave the two women places.
According to the Last Generation group, the ash came from Saxon Switzerland, where there were severe forest fires last year. The activists wanted to use their action to draw attention to the consequences of climate change. Caspar David Friedrich’s painting “The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” shows mountains of Saxon Switzerland as a landscape in the background. According to the Kunsthalle, restorers should examine the painting as a precaution in the coming days.
