Published June 2nd, 2026 - 10:07 GMT
ALBAWABA - The famous, or infamous, depending on who you ask, $6.2 million art piece called ‘Comedian’ – a piece of banana duct taped to a wall – has been stolen.The masterpiece by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed at the Pompidou-Metz museum in France, was stolen just a year after a gallery visitor ate it.On Saturday, a museum security guard noticed that the famous/infamous banana was missing from the wall; the museum called the police and filed a criminal lawsuit before replacing the missing banana with a new one – which will no doubt be well-secured without risk of someone eating or stealing it. "No irreversible damage has been noticed," a museum representative said in a statement, according to the UK Times.The crescent-shaped snack first debuted at Art Basel in Miami, where it sold for $120,000; hungry art enthusiasts can’t get enough of it, however, as it was eaten when it was on display in South Korea in 2023. A year later, a Chinese crypto mogul, Justin Sun, bought the art piece at an auction for $6,200,000 and, after buying it, chewed it up as well.Last year, on July 12, the banana was eaten again by a visitor, only to be replaced by Cattelan again; it’s imperative to note that Cattlelan first bought the original banana for 35 cents from a 74-year-old fruit vendor in New York City - we will see if it will survive long enough to rot this time and if not, you can count on us covering it.
