Overview
- Museum staff said a security guard discovered the banana missing early on Saturday and the Centre Pompidou in Metz has filed a complaint against unknown persons.
- The missing fruit was quickly replaced according to the certified installation rules for Comedian, which specify the banana’s position and frequent swaps because the fruit ripens.
- The museum publicly condemned the act as a violation of respect for exhibited works while also noting that no irreversible damage to the edition’s certificate or presentation protocol was reported.
- Comedian is an editioned conceptual work by Maurizio Cattelan that consists of a real banana affixed with tape and has a public history of being removed or eaten at other shows, including incidents in 2019, 2023 and a high-profile 2024 consumption after a sale.
- The episode renews practical and legal questions about whether taking the perishable element counts as theft or as an intervention, and it could prompt museums to tighten supervision or clarify how protocol protects an artwork whose material part is replaceable.