Turkey-Germany Row: Erdogan’s “Banana In Ass” Painting Sold For $7,500

As we told you yesterday (see our related coverage, link hereunder), Turkish President Erdogan was ‘less than amused’ after finding out there was a ‘painting’ showing him with a ‘banana up his backside’ being offered at a German art fair.

The piece by artist Thomas Baumgärtel entitled “Turkish dictator” was part of the “Despots Series” showing US President Trump, NOKO’s Kim and Turkey’s Erdogan.” They were all on display at the Art Karlsruhe fair in southwestern Germany.

Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/19207-Turkey-Furious-At-German-Museum-Depicting-Erdogan-With-Banana-In-Ass">Turkey Furious At German Museum Depicting Erdogan With Banana In Ass</a>.

Mr Baumgärtel says the coverage in the Turkish and afterwards worldwide press brought so much attention to the painting he was able to sell it quickly.

To answer at the Turkish criticism, the artist said it was simply a ‘freedom of expression’.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="nl" dir="ltr">Wordt Thomas Baumgärtel een rel gegund voor zijn kunst die de controverse zoekt? <a href="https://t.co/cRuJrwoqKm">https://t.co/cRuJrwoqKm</a> <a href="https://t.co/Tb6jluDmkc">pic.twitter.com/Tb6jluDmkc</a></p>&mdash; George Knight (@KnightKortLang) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnightKortLang/status/967714058039373825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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One day after the German-language version of the pro-government Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah stated in an article that the painting “appears for many Turks to be a racist-vulgar attack on the Turkish president,” Turkish immigrants in Germany rushed to the museum to complain.

Making sure they wouldn’t have to look to far, the article in the pro-government newspaper reported the exact location of the gallery stand (Hall 2, Stand D25).

As you can see from the hereunder twitter pics, the series also shows US President Donald Trump with a banana in his mouth and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un riding a banana missile. Both Mr Trump and Mr Jung-Un have so far not instructed their countrymen to protest.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is a picture representing the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Prez?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Prez</a> in a compromising posture, as imagined by the <a href="https://twitter.com/bananensprayer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bananensprayer</a> Thomas Baumgärtel . . . <br><br>And somebody bought the piece for a meagre €5,900 or $7,254 . . . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TayyipErdogan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TayyipErdogan</a> <a href="https://t.co/HTSbx1CPUX">pic.twitter.com/HTSbx1CPUX</a></p>&mdash; Dr Can Erimtan (@TheErimtanAngle) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheErimtanAngle/status/967384058190880768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The gallery owner explained he took the painting of Turkish President Erdogan down due to security concerns but also noted that a collector had bought the piece for $7,500, twice the original asking price.

Source:

https://twitter.com/TheErimtanAngle/status/967384058190880768