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Banana Art Stolen: Million-Dollar Fruit Vanishes!
31 May
Summary
- A museum reported the theft of Maurizio Cattelan's artwork 'Comedian'.
- The artwork features a banana taped to a wall and is valued in the millions.
- This is the second time a 'Comedian' artwork has been targeted.
A provocative artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, titled 'Comedian,' has been stolen from a museum in eastern France. The piece, which consists of a banana duct-taped to a wall, was reported missing by a museum guard on Saturday. The Pompidou-Metz museum has filed a criminal complaint for theft against unknown individuals.
This is not the first incident involving 'Comedian,' as a visitor previously ate the fruit in July last year, though a replacement was quickly installed. Cattelan's work, which questions art's value, debuted in 2019 with an initial price of $120,000. Despite controversies, its value has reportedly escalated, with one iteration selling for $5.2 million in 2024.
Cattelan is also known for his 18-karat gold toilet, 'America,' which was stolen from a UK exhibition in 2020. Parts of that artwork were never recovered, highlighting a pattern of high-value art thefts.
