“Liberty Leading the People,” painted by artist Eugène Delacroix in 1830 commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, was defaced by a woman wielding a black marker Thursday while the iconic painting and symbol of the French Republic was on display in the Louvre gallery in northern France.
The painting depicts a woman personifying Liberty who leads the people forward over the bodies of the fallen, holding the flag of the French Revolution in one hand and brandishing a bayonetted musket with the other.
French police arrested an unidentified 28-year-old woman after she scribbled "AE911" across the bottom of the painting with a black marker according to Reuters.
Officials believe that the woman’s scribbled reference is associated with "AE911Truth," the name of an organization and website called "Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth,“ dedicated to “exposing the falsehoods and to revealing truths about the “collapses” of the 3 World Trade Center high-rises on September 11, 2001.”
In a statement released on their website, AE911Truth said:
We do not know if this act of vandalism was done in reference to our organization. Whether or not this is true, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth) condemns and deplores the defacing of this priceless work of art and all public and private property. Our code of conduct requires all of our volunteers to abide by the laws, rules, and regulations of society.
Fortunately, officials from the Louvre said on Friday that the woman’s markings ‘had not penetrated the upper layer of varnish and has been successfully removed,” and that the painting was successfully saved.
For more on the works by painter Eugène Delacroix, visit his website; and see the video accompanying this article.
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