Dressed and Undressed: A Semiotic Analysis of Manneken Pis

Abstract

Manneken Pis, the iconic bronze fountain sculpture in Brussels, has been subjected to scholarly examination as a symbol of Belgian cultural identity, yet its distinctive sartorial dimension remained analytically underexplored. This study investigated how the systematic dressing and undressing of the monument produces meaning through material transformation and performative practice. The research employed Roland Barthes' triadic semiotic framework, examining the monument's denotative, connotative, and mythological dimensions. The analysis revealed that the oscillation between naked (original, vulnerable) and clothed (ceremonial, dignified) states generates what Lacanian theory terms a floating signifier a sign whose meaning remains perpetually unstable and renegotiated rather than fixed. The study examined the historical accumulation of over one thousand costumes and traced temporal patterns in costume donations across three centuries. Findings demonstrated that meaning emerges not from either state in isolation but from the irresolvable tension between dressed and undressed dimensions. The research contributes to understanding how contemporary urban monuments negotiate identity and cultural exchange through material practice rather than stable symbolism, with implications for monument studies, material culture scholarship, and fashion semiotics.