"Having said that, this poor invalid gives us a curtsy, and goes hobbling off" from Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 1/4 × 7 3/16 in. (26.1 × 18.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.500.592(27)
Art Historical Context
This wood engraving, titled *"Having said that, this poor invalid us a curtsy, goes hobbling off" captures a whimsical moment from the satirical book *Scenes from the Private and Public Life of Animals* (ca. 1837–47). A collaborative gem, it pairs Honoré de Balzac's prose—known for his realist novels like *La Comédie humaine*—with the fantastical illustrations of J.J. Grandville, a master of caricature. Andrew Best Leloir likely contributed to the engraving process. Grandville's anthropomorphic animals poke fun at human follies, here depicting a pitiful, limping figure offering a courteous cur...
About the Artist
Honoré de Balzac|J. J. Grandville|Andrew Best Leloir (French|French) · 1799 |1803 –1850 |1847
French, Tours 1799–1850 Paris|French, Nancy 1803–1847 Vanves