{"id":1205,"date":"2026-06-04T17:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1205"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:37:14","slug":"someone-stole-maurizio-cattelans-notorious-banana-artwork-and-the-museum-isnt-amused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1205","title":{"rendered":"Someone stole Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s notorious banana artwork \u2014 and the museum isn\u2019t amused"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An art museum in France has filed a legal complaint after a banana that makes up part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s controversial artwork \u201cComedian\u201d was stolen.<\/p>\n

Read more Melinda French Gates donates $215 million to improve women\u2019s health worldwide<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The gallery \u201chas filed a complaint with the relevant authorities against persons unknown,\u201d it said in the statement.<\/p>\n

The theft \u201cundermines the respect due to the works on display and temporarily deprives visitors of part of the experience offered by the exhibition,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

It noted, however, that \u201cthe perishable component of the work has been replaced, and the work has been restored to its original presentation as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not the first incident involving \u201cComedian,\u201d which comprises a fresh banana taped to a wall.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

And in November 2024, Justin Sun, a Chinese collector and founder of a cryptocurrency platform, acquired \u201cComedian\u201d for $6.24 million at auction \u2014 before eating the banana.<\/p>\n

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | <\/b>Duct-taped banana sells for $6.2 million at art auction<\/b><\/p>\n

Then, in July 2025, the banana was eaten by a gallery-goer at the Centre Pompidou-Metz.<\/p>\n

\u201cComedian\u201d is intended to demonstrate the \u201cabsurdity of financial speculation and the fragility of knowledge systems that underpin the art market,\u201d the museum said in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n

Cattelan is known for satirical pieces that challenge popular culture, often provoking debates around conceptual art.<\/p>\n

Another one of Cattelan\u2019s viral artworks was a solid 18-carat-gold toilet \u201centitled\u201d America, valued at around $6 million. It was first installed at New York\u2019s Guggenheim in 2016 and was open to use by visitors.<\/p>\n

In 2019, it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in England \u2014 the birthplace of Winston Churchill \u2014 where it was being exhibited. It has never been found.<\/p>\n

RELATED STORY | <\/b>4 charged in theft of $5.9M gold toilet from Churchill’s birthplace<\/b><\/p>\n

The-CNN-Wire\u2122 & \u00a9 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Summer vacation feels out of reach for many Americans. Here\u2019s how to save<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An art museum in France has filed a legal complaint after a banana that makes up part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s controversial artwork \u201cComedian\u201d was stolen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\nSomeone stole Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s notorious banana artwork \u2014 and the museum isn\u2019t amused - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1205\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Someone stole Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s notorious banana artwork \u2014 and the museum isn\u2019t amused - Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An art museum in France has filed a legal complaint after a banana that makes up part of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s controversial artwork \u201cComedian\u201d was stolen.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1205\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T17:37:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"headline\":\"Someone stole Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s notorious banana artwork \u2014 and the museum isn\u2019t amused\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T17:37:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7758c383b2d913f319060eafd707e1bb-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Entertainment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205\",\"name\":\"Someone stole Maurizio Cattelan\u2019s notorious banana artwork \u2014 and the museum isn\u2019t amused - Arizona Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7758c383b2d913f319060eafd707e1bb-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T17:37:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1205#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7758c383b2d913f319060eafd707e1bb-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7758c383b2d913f319060eafd707e1bb-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - Artist Maurizio Cattelan's piece of art \\\"Comedian\\\" hangs on display during an auction preview at Sotheby's in New York, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. 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