Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian artwork stolen from Pompidou-Metz center

The Pompidou-Metz Center in eastern France has filed a legal complaint against unknown persons following the theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s iconic artwork, 'Comedian,' which features a banana taped to a wall. The theft was discovered by a museum guard on Saturday evening. Although the fruit is replaced every three days as part of the installation's protocol, museum officials chose to pursue legal action because the perpetrator remains unknown, preventing direct communication. This incident follows a previous event in July where a visitor ate the banana, though the museum did not file a complaint at that time because the individual was identified. The artwork, created in 2019, is currently part of the exhibition 'Sunday without end,' which runs from May 2025 until January 2027. Officials stated that they consider this repeated act disrespectful toward the exhibition. Historical precedents for the artwork include a 2019 incident in Miami where another artist consumed the banana as a protest against the work's market value.