A BANKSY PAINTING that shocked onlookers as it partially shredded itself after being sold at auction is going on display in Germany.

The Frieder Burda museum in Baden-Baden said today that Girl with Balloon will be shown from tomorrow through to 3 March.

Girl with Balloon had just sold at Sotheby’s for £1,042,000 (€1.2 million) – a joint record for the maverick artist – on 5 October 2018 when it unexpectedly passed through a shredder hidden in the frame, according to the auction house.

After 3 March, the painting, retitled Love is in the Bin after the shredding, will be moved to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart museum on permanent loan.

Banksy, a mysterious artist from Bristol, southwest England, rose to fame painting clandestine street murals, typically simple graffiti stencils with a sharp political point, all over the world.

He has also produced a treasure trove of other kinds of images, and his works have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds in many cases.

The price paid in London on 5 October matched the artist’s previous record at auction for his Keep It Spotless piece in 2008, Sotheby’s said.

Prior to its shredding, the framed Girl with Balloon — pray paint and acrylic on canvas mounted on board – depicted a girl reaching out toward a bright red, heart-shaped balloon.

It was instantly recognisable as a Banksy to anyone familiar with his work.

With reporting by AFP