As reported by the National Gallery, shortly before 11 a.m. this morning two people entered room 30 of the museum and began hitting the painting ‘Venus in the Mirror’ (‘The Rokeby Venus’) by Velázquez.

Two arrested

The pair hit the work with what appeared to be emergency rescue hammers. The newspaper ‘The Telegraph’ claims that The two people have been arrested after damaging the glass of the painting and after the incident the room was cleared of visitors.

The work has been withdrawn

The painting is being removed from display so it can be examined by conservators