Climate activists throw soup on Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' in National Gallery

The activists, who are a part of a group called "Just Stop Oil" wants the British government to halt new oil and gas projects

On Friday, art enthusiasts strolling through the galleries of London's National Gallery witnessed a shocking show when two climate activists threw tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers to protest fossil fuel extraction. No discernible damage was done to the glass-covered oil painting.

The activists, who are a part of a group called "Just Stop Oil" wants the UK government to halt new oil and gas projects.

The two protesters also glued themselves to the gallery wall to make a point. Both of them have been arrested soon after, said London's Metropolitan Police.

"What is worth more, art or life? … are you more concerned about the protection of a painting or the protection of our planet and people?" said the activists to justify their actions.

The soup splashed across the glass covering the painting and its gilded frame. The gallery said there is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.

The work is one of several versions of Sunflowers that Van Gogh painted in the late 1880s.

It's not the first time the group acted this way. In July, Just Stop Oil activists glued themselves to the frame of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper at London's Royal Academy of Arts, and to John Constable's The Hay Wain in the National Gallery.

On October 7, the British government opened a new licensing round for North Sea oil and gas exploration, despite criticism from environmentalists and scientists who say the move undermines the country's commitment to fighting climate change.

Environmentalists say the only way to limit global warming to the internationally approved target of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels is to stop extracting fossil fuels.

The government's claim that burning ever more fossil fuels from the North Sea will help the UK meet its international obligations to become net-zero by 2050 has no connection to reality, UK Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said.