Someone smeared cake on the Mona Lisa
It's nothing to smile about.
On Sunday, a male protester "disguised as an elderly woman" in a wheelchair attempted to smash the glass protecting the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Failing that, the protester proceeded to smear cake on the glass protecting the painting, The Guardian reports.
Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece was unharmed in the incident, and guards swiftly cleaned off the glass.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
The hullabaloo was apparently an attempt to draw attention to the climate crisis. "Think of the Earth, people are destroying the Earth," Reuters reported the suspect as saying as he was led away from the gallery.
A free daily email with the day’s biggest news and analysis – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.