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a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair has thrown a cake at the Mona Lisa, at a time described as “amazing” by witnesses.
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting was unharmed in the incident at the Louvre in Paris on Sunday, as the attack left a stain of white cream on its protective glass.
The assailant, wearing a wig and lipstick, asked people to “think of the Earth” as they drove them from the scene.
Liverpool FC fan Klevis, who did not want to share his middle name, was in the Louvre after his team’s 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid at the Stade de France.
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“I had different emotions, I felt sad and disappointed,” the 26-year-old Albanian told the PA news agency.
“I came to Paris for the game and the second thing I thought I would do was see the Mona Lisa.
“A boy dressed as an old woman in a wheelchair attacked her with a cake.
“What were the chances of this happening?”
Louvre teammate Luke Sundberg, an athletics runner from Denver, Colorado, witnessed the incident while queuing to see the masterpiece.
“The crowd started to gasp and we looked up and a man in a wheelchair (suit) while an old woman ran to the box and started hitting him before spreading the cake,” he said. the 20-year-old in PA.
“Security took about 10 to 15 seconds for the man to be taken away, but the crowd seemed to panic.
“It was amazing, it was very necessary to consider how historic the Mona Lisa is … the time was once in a million.”
The activist was also seen throwing roses at the gallery.
As he listened to security, he was heard to say, “Think of the Earth. There are people who are destroying the Earth. Think of it. Artists tell you, think of the Earth. That’s why I did it.”
A video of Mr. Sundberg showed a crowd near the painting clapping after cleaning the glass cream.
The 16th century work had the glass installed in the 1950s to protect it after an acid attack.
Following the incident on Sunday, a 36-year-old man was arrested and sent to a psychiatric police unit, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday. He said he had opened an investigation into the damage to cultural artifacts.