Cattelan’s $6.2M banana artwork stolen from French museum

Maurizio Cattelan‘s duct-taped banana was stolen from Centre Pompidou-Metz, with the theft discovered by a guard on Saturday.theartnewspaper
The conceptual artwork sold at Sotheby’s for $6.24 million in 2024, though its value lies in a certificate of authenticity, not the fruit.wikipedia
The banana has been replaced, but the museum condemned the act and filed a complaint against unknown perpetrators.theartnewspaper

Cattelan’s $6.2 Million Banana Artwork Stolen From French Museum

A banana duct-taped to a wall — the perishable core of one of the most polarizing works in contemporary art — was stolen from a museum in eastern France on May 30, prompting the institution to file a criminal complaint against unknown perpetrators.

The Theft

The disappearance of the banana from Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” was noticed by a security guard on Saturday afternoon at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, where the work is displayed as part of the exhibition “Endless Sunday — Maurizio Cattelan and the Centre Pompidou Collection,” running until January 2027. The museum reported the theft to police on Sunday and filed a formal complaint, though the perpetrator has not been identified.indiatimes

In a statement, the museum said the banana has already been replaced and “the work has been restored to its original presentation as quickly as possible”. The institution “condemns this act which undermines the respect due to the works on display and temporarily deprives visitors of part of the experience offered by the exhibition,” the statement added.theartnewspaper

A Pattern of Provocation

The theft marks an escalation from a similar incident last year, when a visitor ate the banana shortly after the exhibition opened at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2025. No legal action was taken in that case. The fruit has been consumed on multiple prior occasions — by a performance artist at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, when the work debuted, and by an art student at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul in 2023.indiatimes

Value Beyond the Fruit

The museum emphasized that “the value of the work lies in its certificate of authenticity and then the protocol governing its presentation rather than in its perishable element”. A version of “Comedian” sold at Sotheby’s in November 2024 for $6.24 million including fees, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $1.5 million.wikipedia

Cattelan has previously described the work as “a sincere commentary and a reflection on what we value,” telling The Art Newspaper in 2021: “If I had to be at a fair, I could sell a banana like others sell their paintings. I could play within the system, but with my rules.”theartnewspaper