Man dressed as old lady smears cake on Mona Lisa

Museum-goers were left in shock after a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair smeared cake over the glass on the Mona Lisa painting.

The incident happened on Sunday (29 May) at the Louvre in Paris where the priceless Leonardo da Vinci painting hangs.

According to witnesses who took to Twitter shortly after it happened, a man wearing a wig jumped up from the wheelchair he was sitting in, smeared cake on the bullet-proof glass protecting the artwork, and threw roses on the ground.

The painting itself was undamaged thanks to the protective glass which has been in place since the 1950s after a vandal threw acid on the Mona Lisa.

Footage from the incident appears to suggest the action was a climate protest, as the man shouted in French, “Think of the Earth!”, as he was being led out by security.

He continued: “Artists think of the earth. All artists think of the earth. That’s why I did it…Think of the planet.”

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

In footage of the aftermath, crowds can be seen gathered around the painting filming, as a member of security wiped cake icing off the glass.

The man being escorted away was wearing white clothing and had a black wig, red lipstick and baseball hat on.

Someone on Twitter joked: “finally actual art in the louvre museum.”

Another said: “classical art to modern art.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.