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The Pompidou-Metz museum in eastern France contacted law enforcement on Sunday to report the theft of a banana serving as the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar art installation by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan.
A security guard first discovered on Saturday that the missing fruit, which was attached to a gallery wall to create Cattelan's controversial piece titled "Comedian," had vanished from display.
The institution—a satellite branch of Paris's renowned Pompidou Center—announced it has filed a formal criminal complaint for theft against unidentified perpetrators.
The museum noted that a fresh banana has already replaced the stolen fruit
This is not the first time damage has been dealt to the conceptual artwork, whose perishable banana centerpiece is replaced every three days.
In July last year, a museum visitor ate the fruit. Guards quickly intervened to place a replacement banana.
Cattelan said at the time he was disappointed the hungry visitor had consumed only the banana and not the tape as well. The museum did not take legal action in that instance.
This time, though, the museum decided to file a criminal complaint because the perpetrator was unidentified, leaving "no possibility of dialogue."
The museum statement noted that "this is the second time the incident has happened" and that the theft felt more like an issue of respect for the artwork.
Cattelan's edible creation, which aims to question the notion of art and its value, has sparked controversy ever since it debuted at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach with an asking price of $120,000.
Performance artist David Datuna ate "Comedian" at that 2019 show, claiming he felt "hungry," but the work's value has only risen.
According to an article by The Straits Times, on Nov. 29, 2024, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun fulfilled his promise after spending $6.2 million on a duct-taped banana artwork—by eating the fruit.
At one of Hong Kong’s priciest hotels, Sun chomped down on the banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as “iconic” and drawing parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun said after getting his first taste. “It’s really quite good.”
In addition to "Comedian," Cattelan is also known for producing "America," an 18-carat, fully functioning gold toilet that was offered to Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.
The toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace—the historic Churchill family seat and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern England.
It was later broken down into parts, and none of the gold was ever recovered.
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