Cattelan's New Watercolor Places Banana Over Caravaggio, Donated for Rare Disease Research
Maurizio Cattelan's latest creation, WINDOW, 2025, is a watercolor measuring 70 x 50 cm that reinterprets his 2019 piece, Comedian, which showcased a banana affixed to Caravaggio's 17th-century artwork, Deposizione di Cristo. This new piece blends elements of the sacred with the profane. Cattelan has generously donated it to the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, where it will be auctioned on 8 October in Milan during the charity dinner Chiamiamola per nome, organized by Christie's Cristiano De Lorenzo. The funds raised will support research into rare diseases. Cattelan expressed his joy that his art can aid a meaningful cause, highlighting the dinner's focus on the significance of naming diseases for improved patient care.
Key facts
- Maurizio Cattelan created WINDOW, 2025, a unique 70 x 50 cm watercolor on paper.
- The work places the banana and tape from Comedian over Caravaggio's Deposizione di Cristo.
- Comedian was originally presented at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019.
- Cattelan donated WINDOW, 2025 to the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS.
- The work will be auctioned on 8 October in Milan at the third edition of the charity dinner Chiamiamola per nome.
- Cristiano De Lorenzo, general manager of Christie's, will conduct the auction.
- Proceeds will fund research on rare diseases that still lack a diagnosis.
- The auction will be held at Marièncò in Milan, with creative direction by Paola Manfrin and music by Luca Baldini.
- Pre-bids and telephone bidding are possible before and during the event.
- The first two editions of the charity dinner financed research tools for kidney and neurological diseases.
Entities
Artists
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
- Paola Manfrin
- Luca Baldini
- Caravaggio
- Michelangelo Merisi
Institutions
- Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS
- Christie's
- Art Basel Miami Beach
- Marièncò
- Istituto Mario Negri
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- Miami Beach
- United States
Sources
- Inside Art —
- Artslife —