Offensive de Manneken-pis 

• 1915 
• Pauw, René de 
• Painting 
• Historical item 

6709225

Drawings / paintings

Offensive de Manneken-pis

31 x 23 cm

1915

Original watercolour cartoon on paper, around 1915, shows ‘Manneken Pis’ in the fountain in Brussels urinating and splashing the boot of a passing German officer who looks rather irritated at the inconvenience. Written in ink lower left is the caption ‘Et dire que ça voulait passer l’Iser’ (and to think this one wanted to cross the Yser). This refers to the attempts by the invading German army during the First World War to cross the river Yser on their way to the Belgian coast in 1914. Some of the river and much of the surrounding area was canalized, being polder or reclaimed land. In late October 1914, fearing a German breakthrough in the direction of Dunkirk and Calais, the Belgians took the drastic step of opening the canal locks at Nieuwpoort. The result was a gradual flooding of the low country between the German and Belgian lines. The German army retreated as a result, transferring its offensive effort to Ypres. Diksmuide fell to the Germans on 10 November, but Nieuwpoort remained in Belgian hands throughout the war. This cartoon pokes fun at the Germans - how could a soldier inconvenienced by a few splashes be expected to negotiate flood water defences? It seems that De Pauw sold caricatures like this to rich patrons in order to support himself, and this would make sense as such a drawing could not have been published at the time, although owning such a work privately would be a symbol of Belgian resistance. Paper and image size 31 x 23 cm, in a simple (probably contemporary) wooden frame without mount, signed ‘René’ lower right, title and caption in ink in upper and lower borders. Some minor soiling and a crease in the paper running from the left border to centre about halfway down, otherwise in very good condition.