Plate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Plate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert Macaires

Honoré Daumier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Yesterday I made a mistake when I said that your business is in good shape. It's detestable. The government owes you five hundred thousand francs, it's true, but the debt hasn't been recognized, there's a forfeiture today, you won't have a penny. However, come to think of it, there's Mr. de St. Bertrand, a rich capitalist, an imbecile, sell him your interests for a hundred crowns, that'll be a splendid deal... (aside) and not expensive.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, from 'Caricaturana,' published in Les Robert MacairesPlate 13: Robert Macaire, business agent, 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.