Someone stole Maurizio Cattelan’s notorious banana artwork — and the museum isn’t amused

By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — An art museum in France has filed a legal complaint after a banana that makes up part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial artwork “Comedian” was stolen.

The theft was reported by a security guard at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in the city of Metz, eastern France, on Saturday, according to a statement from the museum published the same day.

The gallery “has filed a complaint with the relevant authorities against persons unknown,” it said in the statement.

The theft “undermines the respect due to the works on display and temporarily deprives visitors of part of the experience offered by the exhibition,” it added.

It noted, however, that “the perishable component of the work has been replaced, and the work has been restored to its original presentation as quickly as possible.”

CNN has contacted the High Court of Metz and the Perrotin Gallery, which sold the artwork, for comment.

This is not the first incident involving “Comedian,” which comprises a fresh banana taped to a wall.

In 2019, when Cattelan unveiled the work at the Art Basel Miami art fair in Florida, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees.

Then, in 2023, an art student took the banana from a wall at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, and ate it.

And in November 2024, Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, acquired “Comedian” for $6.24 million at auction — before eating the banana.

Then, in July 2025, the banana was eaten by a gallery-goer at the Centre Pompidou-Metz.

“Comedian” is intended to demonstrate the “absurdity of financial speculation and the fragility of knowledge systems that underpin the art market,” the museum said in a statement at the time.

Cattelan is known for satirical pieces that challenge popular culture, often provoking debates around conceptual art.

Another one of Cattelan’s viral artworks was a solid 18-carat-gold toilet “entitled” America, valued at around $6 million. It was first installed at New York’s Guggenheim in 2016 and was open to use by visitors.

In 2019, it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in England — the birthplace of Winston Churchill — where it was being exhibited. It has never been found.

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