Statue The Contentious Man - Eersel

At the Markt in Eersel there is a small statue, made by Richard Bertels around 1957. The Contente Mens is an icon of Brabant's conviviality and a symbol of the Kempen folk character.

The Kempener used to live in abject poverty. They had to work hard for little money. The soil was infertile, making arable farming almost impossible, and industrial development was still a long way off in this region. But the Kempener did not complain. The inhabitants were satisfied with the little they had and they took life as it was.

Jantje Mollen, a former farmer who had a farm in Duizel until 1933, was the model for the statue. When his farm was taken over by his daughter, Jantje spent his free time mainly strolling through the village. He chatted to everyone about the weather and asked passers-by where they were going. He was a typical contented and easy-going Kempener, exactly what the statue symbolises.