A man dressed as an old woman in a wheelchair ATTACKS Mona Lisa with custard pie.

This is the moment security guards hauled a man away after he threw a custard pie at the Mona Lisa painting.

The incident, which occurred just before closing time on Sunday night, surprised visitors to the Louvre art gallery in Paris.

Witnesses stated a man wearing a wig and disguised as a lady was in a wheelchair rolling by Leonardo da Vinci’s famed masterpiece before springing to his feet and throwing a pie at the canvas.

After throwing a bouquet of roses into the air, the culprit was tackled to the ground by Louvre security officials.

No damage was caused to the priceless painting which is protected by a bulletproof screen.

Scores of bystanders watched on, snapping pictures of the Mona Lisa which was partially obscured from view by smears of pie crusted on the protective glass.

The man, who wore a dark black wig and lipstick, turned out to be an artist and climate change activist who said he pied the prized painting in protest.

‘Think about the Earth. People are in the process of destroying the Earth!’ he declared as he was led away by security guards.

‘Artists think about the Earth, that’s why I did this. Think of the planet!’

Officials returned to the scene moments later to wipe away the smeared dessert from the glass as stunned gallery visitors watched on.

Today officials at the Louvre were not available to comment and it is not clear if police were involved.

It is not the first time the Mona Lisa has been the subject of an attack.

In 2011 a Russian woman threw a cup of tea at the painting after being refused French citizenship and the protective glass was damaged.

In 1956, da Vinci’s painting survived another attack when a vandal doused it with acid while it was on display at a museum in Montauban.

The lower portion of the painting suffered considerable damage but was ultimately restored and has since been displayed behind a protective cover.

Mona Lisa, now thought to be 519 years old, watches on from behind a bulletproof screen year-round, and is removed from her casing just once a year for experts to check her condition.

The half-length portrait was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503, though it is believed it may have taken more than a decade to complete.

The painting depicts Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini, the wife of the cloth-and-silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo.

It was acquired by King Francis I of France in 1518 and remains in the possession of the French Republic.

It has been on display at the Musée du Louvre since 1797, though has at times been involved in other exhibitions for limited periods.

The painting grew in fame in 1911 after being stolen from the Louvre by a museum employee and later recovered.

The renaissance polymath’s world-renowned masterpiece is viewed by around 6 million people each year.