Jeanneke Pis
Jeanneke Pis is a small statue in Brussels, Belgium, depicting a girl urinating. It is considered the female counterpart to the much older and more famous Manneken Pis. The sculpture was created by Denis Adrien Debouverie in 1985 and inaugurated in 1987. It is located in Beenhouwersstraat, a Brussels street known for its many beer and wine tastings. The statue stands about 1.5 metres high in a dead-end street, and is believed to have been placed there to attract more tourists to the neighbourhood.
April 2019 © Gordito1869 · CC BY-SA 4.0
December 2023 © Denis-Adrien Debouvrie (artiste). · CC BY-SA 3.0
July 2013 © Fitamant · CC BY-SA 3.0
June 2009 © Joseph Brent · CC BY-SA 2.0
April 2021 © Nenea hartia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Identification | |
| Title | Jeanneke Pis |
| Type | Bronze fountain statue |
Historical context | |
| Creation date | 1985 |
| Inauguration date | 24 June 1987 |
Creator | |
| Artist | Denis-Adrien Debouvrie |
| Creator's other role | Owner of several restaurants in the Îlot Sacré |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Commissioning and conception | Conceived by Denis-Adrien Debouvrie; a sculptor was commissioned to realize the design |
| Purpose | To restore interest in the alley, attract tourists to the area, and symbolically create a feminine counterpart to Manneken Pis |
| Inspiration | Debouvrie reportedly had the idea over breakfast, sketched it on a paper tablecloth, and said, "Now we have gender equality."; he was visually inspired by his younger sister Jenny as a child |
Physical characteristics | |
| Height | About 50 cm |
Materials | |
| Primary material | Bronze |
| Base material | Blue-grey limestone |
Appearance | |
| Depicted figure | A naked little girl with pigtails |
| Pose | Squatting and urinating |
| Expression | Calm, with a mischievous or mocking look |
| Water feature | A thin stream of water flows from the girl's genital area into a reservoir below |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Relation to Manneken Pis | Female counterpart and sibling of Manneken Pis; often described as a parody or counterpoint to the city symbol |
| Name meaning | "Little girl who pees" |
| Symbolic meaning | Fidelity |
Location and ownership | |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Site | At the end of Impasse de la Fidélité / Getrouwheidsgang, off Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat, near the Grand Place in central Brussels |
| Setting | Set in a niche above a water basin and surrounded by a safety grille |
| Placement | About 1.5 meters above the ground in a dead-end street |
History and restoration | |
| Vandalism protection | Enclosed behind iron bars to prevent vandalism and theft |
| Public custom | Visitors throw coins into the fountain's basin |
| Coin custom meaning | Initially associated with tenderness and fidelity to a loved one; later also linked to making wishes at fountains |
| Coin funds | Collected by Horizon-Espoir ASBL and used for medical research and charitable causes, including HIV/AIDS research, the National Fund for Scientific Research, UNICEF, cancer research, and other charitable purposes in Belgium |
| Plaque update | In December 2021, the plaque was replaced with a version written from the statue's perspective acknowledging the use of collected coins for medical research and charitable purposes |
Significance | |
| Tourist significance | A notable tourist attraction in Brussels |
| Nearby development | The opening of Delirium Café in 2003 and other nearby establishments helped turn the alley into a visitor destination |
| Related sculpture | Manneken Pis, depicted as a peeing boy and dating from the 17th century |
| Related sculpture | Zinneke Pis, a stray dog sculpture that imitates the first two and urinates in the street |