The world’s most visited museum shied away from displaying the sculpture, but the nearby Pompidou Centre on Tuesday decided the world needed to decide for itself.
The geometric sculpture shows a red human figure appearing to penetrate a four-legged creature.
Standing 12 metres tall, Domestikator, a creation from Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, was originally expected to stand in the 13th century Tuileries Gardens adjacent to Paris’ Louvre museum as part of a contemporary art fair this month.
But was perhaps just a little too imposing for the home of French art.
Mr van Lieshout said: “I was surprised first of all, and then of course disappointed, because it (Louvre Museum) couldn’t show the art work.”
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He added that he had never intended to elicit a sexual interpretation and was upset at the Louvre’s decision not to showcase it.
Local media said the Louvre had made its decision after a barrage of negativity on social media and fears that it would not be received in such a public place.
The piece, made of steel, wood and fibreglass, is now on show in the esplanade outside the high-tech architectural building of the Pompidou Centre.
Bernard Blistene, director of the Pompidou Centre Museum said: “Obscene, pornographic? Well, obscenity is everywhere, pornography, sadly, is everywhere, certainly not in this work of art.
“This work of art is funny, it is an obvious nod to the relationship of abstraction and figurative painting that co-exist in Dutch art in the 20th century. Spiritual yes, obscene no.”
Already displayed for three years in Bochum, Germany, the sculpture had not courted any controversy until now.
Mr Van Lieshout insisted that his work defined the domestication of animals by humans for agriculture and industry as well as highlighting the ethical issues surrounding that.
He added: ”I don’t think it´s very sexually explicit. I mean, I don´t know what I can do to make it less sexually explicit.”
It is not the first time the International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC) has been at the centre of an artistic sex scandal in Paris.
In 2014, vandals attacked a giant green inflatable sculpture in one of the capital’s most famous squares after its resemblance to a sex toy sparked an outcry.
At the time Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the incident was an unacceptable attack on artistic freedom.
Marketing student Colombe Gaucherand said after looking over Domestikator: ”I can understand that it can shock some people, because it’s true, it’s bound to be linked to bestiality, this kind of thing.
“But it’s artistic freedom and I think we shouldn’t censor a work of art even if it doesn’t appeal to everyone.”