Visitor Eats $6.2M Banana Art at French Museum

A visitor at the Pompidou-Metz museum in France ate the banana from Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's conceptual artwork 'Comedian,' which was purchased for $6.2 million last year and features a banana taped to a wall. Museum staff quickly intervened and reinstalled the piece, as the banana is routinely replaced due to its perishable nature. Cattelan remarked that the visitor only ate the fruit, not the peel or tape, suggesting a misunderstanding of the artwork. The act has reignited debates about the boundaries and value of contemporary art, echoing similar incidents since the piece's 2019 debut at Art Basel Miami. 'Comedian' is intended as a critique of the speculative and exclusionary aspects of the art market. Cattelan is also known for his gold toilet artwork, which was stolen and never recovered.