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The $6.2 Million Banana: When Conceptual Art Goes Bananas
Contemporary Art Auction
Essentially, a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for an astounding $6.2 million at Sotheby’s auction house.
It shows contemporary art's unpredictable value system, Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous “Comedian” (2019).
The sale price went to six times its estimated value, marking another chapter in this peculiar artwork’s history of making headlines.
The Artist Behind the Banana
Maurizio Cattelan has built his reputation as contemporary art’s master provocateur.
As curator Francesco Bonami boldly stated, Cattelan is “the most famous Italian artist on the international scene since, dare I say, Caravaggio.”
His artistic journey has been marked by a series of controversial masterpieces that challenge conventional art world norms:
- “America” (2016): A fully functional solid gold toilet
- “La Nona Ora” (1999): A startling sculpture depicting Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite
- Various works featuring strategically positioned taxidermied animals
The artwork first captured global attention at Art Basel Miami in 2019, where three editions sold for over $100,000…
