Maurizio Cattelan's banana stolen from the Centre Pompidou-Metz. Museum's complaint against unknown persons

Episode of theft for Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan ’s famous work composed of a banana taped to the wall, which has become one of the most discussed and recognizable creations in contemporary art over the years. On Saturday, May 30, 2026, at around 2 p.m., the banana forming part of the work exhibited at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, as part of the exhibition Dimanche sans fin. Maurizio Cattelan et la collection du Centre Pompidou, dedicated to Cattelan and works from the French museum’s collection, disappeared. The banana’s disappearance was reported by a security guard who noted the absence of the fruit.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz announced that it had filed a complaint against unknown persons with the relevant authorities, condemning the act as undermining the respect due to the works on display and temporarily depriving the public of a part of the experience conceived by the artist. However, the museum clarified that the incident did not cause any irreversible damage to the work. As is well known, in fact, the value of Comedian does not lie in the banana itself, which by its nature is destined to deteriorate and be periodically replaced, but in the certificate of authenticity and the protocol that regulates its display. The replacement of the element is stipulated in the instructions accompanying the work and is an integral part of the conceptual work.

For this reason, the banana was replaced and the work was able to resume its original configuration within a short period of time.

Made in 2019, Comedian has become famous since its first appearance at Art Basel Miami Beach. The simple image of a banana taped to a wall has fueled debates about the value of art, the market, and the role of the art object in contemporary society. This is not the first time Comedian has been the subject of some episode: during the same 2019 Art Basel Miami Beach, Georgian-American artist David Datuna had peeled the banana off the wall, peeled it, and finally ate it, documenting the performance with a video on his Instagram account. Four years later, in 2023, a student at Seoul National University, visiting the artist’s monographic exhibition at the Leem Museum of Art, had eaten the banana by peeling it off the wall and later attached the peel to the wall.

Maurizio Cattelan's banana stolen from the Centre Pompidou-Metz. Museum's complaint against unknown persons

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