Manneken-Pis

Lieux de mémoire

Price:: 25 €

The renown of the Manneken Pis is inversely proportional to his size. But who knows the real story of this gentle and irreverent statuette, which for centuries has embodied the spirit of Brussels?

From the beginning, the people of Brussels have been particularly attached to the Manneken Pis. They consider him as one of their own. To attack him is also to attack them. Is the city in danger? It is the Manneken Pis who responds! During the bombing of 1695, for example, or during the two World Wars, his image was used to express the spirit of resistance to the invader. In less tragic times, his gesture, all in all a quite natural one, is used to gently mock authority, the rules of propriety and prudishness.

Another surprising phenomenon surrounding the statuette is its wardrobe, which currently numbers around 1,000 outfits. An integral part of Brussels folklore, each year the wardrobe grows by about 20 costumes.

The book traces this quirky history in a lively and playful manner through a series of short texts and copious illustrations.

Authors

Catherine Gauthier, Roel Jacobs, Géraldine Patigny, Isabelle de Pange, Jean-Luc Petit, Gonzague Pluvinage, Thérèse Symons

Authors

Thérèse Symons and Isabelle de Pange are art historians. Catherine Gauthier, Jean-Luc Petit and Gonzague Pluvinage are historians. They are all members of the research and educational staff at the Brussels City Museum and are the authors of many books on the history and heritage of Brussels.

Géraldine Patigny is an art historian. She works at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK/IRPA) and is a doctoral student at the Université libre de Bruxelles. Her dissertation is on Jérôme Du Quesnoy and his son.

Roel Jacobs is a jurist by training. His passion for history led him to become an author and speaker specialising in the history of Brussels.

Release: 2017

17.5 x 15 cm, 261 pages, many colour reproductions.

Trilingual edition: French, Dutch, English.

ISBN : 978-2-87572-022-1