Has he gone bananas? The artist Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial work Comedian has sold for an enormous sum. Some think the art world has lost the plot.
Crypto boss buys a banana for £5m
Seriously?: The sale was the first time that “Comedian” (above) had appeared at auction, after first making a splash at Miami’s Art Basel fair in 2019 before travelling the world. The banana is one of an edition of three. Glossary
Cryptocurrency - A digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralised system using cryptography, rather than by a centralised authority.
Blockchain - A secure database which records transactions, especially cryptocurrency transactions.
Pope - The bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church.
NFT - Non-fungible tokens are digital tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They can be bought and traded online.
Ludicrous - Absurd or ridiculous. Ludicrous originally meant to play or jest, from the Latin ludus: play, sport.