[130] Meunier, who is primarily a sculptor, is a Belgian; but his artistic career has been sufficiently identified with Paris to warrant his introduction here.
[131] Deceased.
[132] See Chapter XVI.
[133] Dagnan-Bouveret may have a religious purpose, but scarcely a humanitarian one.
[134] The French word dessinateur is currently applied to illustrators, freehand draughtsmen, and lithographic sketch artists; in fact, to all workers in black and white, and even to certain workers in colour for purposes of reproduction. It is used above because there seems to be no single English word equally inclusive. No hard-and-fast distinction is made here between the dessinateurs who are primarily caricaturists and those who are not.
[135] Willette, usually classed as a revolutionary socialist, is said by his intimates to have been a Bonapartist always at heart. However this may be, there is no necessary conflict between Bonapartism and the revolutionary ardour which Willette has displayed too often and too unequivocally to admit of any misunderstanding regarding his attitude towards the actual condition of things.
[136] M. Bérenger, familiarly known as Père-la-Pudeur, is an uncompromising censor of public morals.
[137] Steinlen is also a painter, but his works in this field, with the exception of certain fascinating studies of cats, are little known outside the circle of his friends, and are not equal to his drawings.
[138] Recently deceased.
[139] L’assiette au beurre = the plate of butter. To have an assiette au beurre is to belong to the wealthy; that is, to be able to eat butter on one’s bread (or as the French more often say) on one’s spinach.