Clothes maketh the Manneken
February 27, 2017
A new museum in the Belgian capital showcases the outfits, some dating hundreds of years old, worn by the bronze little boy taking a very public leak and snapped in selfies alongside millions of tourists. Curator Catherine Gauthier told that the around 60 centimetre-tall (23-inch) statue, just off Brussels' Grand Place, won a place in people's hearts from the start.
Dressing it up soon became a tradition, not so much for modesty's sake but as a way of affirming a connection with the city at a time of bloody conflict and upheaval across Europe. The "oldest illustration of a costumed Manneken Pis appears in a painting of 1615 while the earliest outfit we have goes back to 1747," Gauthier said. The 1615 painting shows him as a shepherd boy in a white-spotted red cap and blue coat, wearing boots and surrounded by sheep, while urinating with great force and accuracy into a fountain.
The current Manneken Pis originates from 1619 when the Brussels authorities asked sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy to make a statue of a small boy urinating who, according to one of many legends, put out a fire caused by besieging troops, saving the city. "The Manneken Pis, however, is the only secular statue in the world to have such a wardrobe, with some 965 individual costumes," Gauthier added.
He is dressed about 130 times a year in different old or new outfits often donated by organisations or embassies to mark a special occasion or event, such as the death of Nelson Mandela or the start of football's World Cup. His costume for Gay Pride was made by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier; other outfits are crafted by his "official tailor". Some of the costumes are "of exceptional quality", Gauthier noted. "The Manneken Pis is a statue and so it is no easy task to get clothes on him - you need a whole system of ties and velcro stickers so they stay on!" she said, adding the little boy had his own official dresser.
Among the 130 on display, her favourite is a blue and gold dress suit, complete with the medal of the Order of Saint Louis, given by France's King Louis XV in 1747.
is/ks (afp)