On Monday, several art activists in Metz, France, spray-painted a nude painting by artist Gustave Courbet with “MeToo” in red paint. The work “The Origin of the World” dates from the 19th century. It is one of the most famous paintings in art history and shows the hairy vulva of a naked woman.
The picture, on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, is currently hanging in an exhibition at the Center Pompidou in Metz and is protected by a glass pane. According to the museum, it is currently being investigated whether it was damaged during the action. In addition to Courbet’s picture, four other works were defaced, as the French news agency AFP reports.
The public prosecutor’s office announced that two women born in 1986 and 1993 were arrested. A third person, who has not yet been arrested, also stole an embroidery by the French artist Annette Messager.
The French-Luxembourgish performance artist Deborah De Robertis was partly responsible for the campaign. The graffiti was part of a performance entitled “You don’t separate the woman from the artist.” On X, formerly Twitter, De Robertis wrote that she was waiting to be summoned by the police. The stolen work of Annette Messager is also in their possession.
De Robertis has already caused a stir in the past through feminist actions. In 2017 she exposed herself in front of the “Mona Lisa” in the Louvre in Paris. At the time, she told England’s Daily Mail: “I want to question the role of women artists in the history of art. That justifies the need to do my performances in museums.” A case against her for the action in the Louvre was dropped.
The lawyer of De Robertis has already commented on her client’s new action in French media. “Young people no longer want what was once allowed,” she said. De Robertis is a great artist “who asks us questions, challenges us and worries us.”
The mayor of Metz described the graffiti as an “attack on the culture of fanatical feminists.” Criticism also came from French Culture Minister Rachida Dati on “
