The comic strip wall depicting a scene of the Stam & Pilou series in the heritage bar Het Goudblommeke in Papier (La Fleur en Papier Doré) is no longer on show to the public after the bar's new owners covered the mural for being "too sexist".
The wall drawing – created by the authors of the Stam & Pilou series, De Marck and De Wulf – was unveiled in May 2009 on the inner terrace of the Brussels bar and is only accessible through Het Goudblommeke in Papier itself, making it one of the only comic strip walls in Brussels located inside a building.
Following the insolvency of the previous owners, the bar was closed for months until the end of May 2023. The new owners consider the cartoon to be "too sexist" and have decided to cover the wall with a tarpaulin from now on.
Respecting the heritage
The drawing shows the character of Grandpa Fons inspecting the buttocks of a young woman in a short dress. In the series, the man has a little-disguised crush on the younger woman, who is also his neighbour. The bar's new owners deem the drawing disrespectful.
"The new operators want to attract a young audience and do not like the mural. They find old men leering at the skirts of young women too sexist," Peter Lombaert of the association behind Het Goudblommeke told VRT.
But despite their reservations, the owners have chosen not paint over the mural in a concession to its heritage value. "They know that everything in the bar is protected and that they must be very careful. That'ss why they chose this intermediate solution."
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In practice, the drawing will usually be covered but those who want to see it still can. "If people follow the city's comic strip walk, they just have to ask the owners and they will open the curtain," said Lombaert. "If there are many young people who are annoyed by the drawing, it will remain closed."
The drawing has previously been criticised by a feminist action group, Noms Peut-Être, which asked to have 13 Brussels comic strip walls, including those of Kleine Robbe, De Kiekeboes and Stam & Pilou, removed because they were "too sexist or racist."
In response, the Brussels authorities placed QR codes on a number of comic strip walls. Scanning the codes provide context about the paintings.
