Painting of Turkey’s President Erdogan with a banana up his buttocks sparks anger at German art fair
The gallery owner said he took down the caricature to “avoid trouble”
A German artist complained Friday after a gallery took down his depiction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a banana in his buttocks.
Thomas Baumgaertel’s provocative painting, Turkish dictator, sparked noisy complaints and protests at an art fair in Karlsruhe, 38 miles (60km) northwest of Stuttgart.
Amid the row, the fair’s organisers tweeted that it was not them, but the owner of the exhibiting galley that had “decided to take down the caricature”.
Gallerist Michael Oess said he took the decision “to avoid trouble,” adding: “I have a certain responsibility toward other visitors.”
The artist wrote on Twitter that he had severed ties with the gallery after it had taken the decision “without consulting me”.