Plate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Plate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Honoré Daumier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

- Do I actually have the honor of addressing you in person, Monsieur? - Indeed, Monsieur. - I'm delighted. You have a really nice dog with you! Would you like a snuff?... Why of course! You must know my family, Monsieur, the Macairbecs? We originate from Brest, my grandfather served the king on board his galleys, my father and myself, we also have naval connections. Judicial misfortune, political persecution have plunged us into a terrible decline and I don't hesitate a moment to ask you for ten francs assistance - I don't give to people I don't know, Monsieur. - Quite right, quite right! In that case, lend me ten francs.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 25: Robert Macaire, the genteel beggar, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.