Causes a stir again and again Famous banana of contemporary art stolen
The banana from the work "Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan is once again making headlines. This time it wasn't eaten at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, but stolen.
02.06.2026, 07:35
dpa
"Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan has long been more than just a banana on the wall with sticky tape over it: It has now been stolen from an exhibition at the Pompidou Center. According to the institution, it has pressed charges against persons unknown. Since 2019, the fruit has already undergone astonishing interventions: it has been eaten several times and replaced again and again.
According to the museum, a security employee noticed the banana was missing at the weekend. It has since been replaced. It caused a stir at the facility back in July 2025 when a visitor ate the fruit. "Comedian" is on display in the "Dimanche sans fin" exhibition, which runs until June 27.
As it is a real banana, the work is naturally not permanently stable: the fruit begins to ripen and rot and must be replaced regularly. This replacement follows a fixed protocol: The banana is mounted at a height of exactly 1.72 meters and tilted at an angle of 37 degrees. The fruit is intended to encourage viewers to question their view of art and its value.
Student: the work is "there to be eaten"
The first person to eat the banana was contemporary artist David Datuna. He simply detached the banana at Art Basel Miami in 2019, ate it and shouted: "Respect, Maurizio!" He later called himself "the first artist to eat another artist's art". In 2023, a Korean student ate the banana at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. He said he was hungry and that the work was "there to eat".
The following year, entrepreneur Justin Sun also ate the banana - after buying it for 5.2 million dollars. He jokingly commented: "It's better than the other bananas".
