Today is a special day in Paris, an exposition of drawings by Sempé untitled : Sempé, un peu de Paris et d'ailleurs"(Sempé, a little bit of Paris and other places) is taking place right now. Most people knows him for his drawings in black and white. The exposition reveals another side of Sempé, Sempé as a painter. A selection of his work has been made, about 3OO drawings and paintings with texts are on display at the town hall of Paris "Hotel de ville de Paris". If you have the chance to be here from the 21st of October to March 31th you can go there for free.
Jean-Jacques Sempe is a fantastic French cartoonist. He draws light-hearted cartoons about people's daily life. You may have seen his drawings on the cover of the New Yorker magazine for which he had done over a hundred covers, some of them being on display in the exposition.
When you step inside the gallery it really looks like a tribute to a life work but it is not. Each drawing is dated from the 1960s up to now december 2011. As I was talking to some people in the exposition many of them thought Sempe was dead! Fortunately it is only a figment of our imagination. It is true when you are inside and look at the hall (about 80m2), you see layers and layers of borders. It is hard to imagine that all this work has been done by a single man. A man who is still alive. Let us be clear Sempe is not dead. He is alive, full of life and must be enjoying happy season's greetings somewhere.
Sempé's style is unique. One could identify his handstyle among thousands. Here are some of his paintings :
The exposition is called A little bit of Paris and other places because the drawings and paintings on display do not necessarily take place in Paris. He once said in an interview : " My paintings rarely take place in specific places, it is always made out of memories and feeling of a place."
Sempé is very famous here in France. He began his career in 1950 as he was doing his military service in Paris. He was an illustrator for "Sud-Ouest" (South-West, French journal), "Rire"(Laugh, a weekly humorous journal) and others where he could do some drawings but it was not a regular job yet.
In France, Sempe is really famous for a special character called "Le petit Nicolas", a little boy that first appeared in the Belgian Weekly newspaper "Moustique" (Mosquito) between 1955-1958. Sempe was working closely with René Groscinny a scriptwriter. Together they wrote a series of comic books about this little boy's life, Groscinny wrote the script whereas Sempe illustrated them. Later on, Sempe decided to stop the project because he did not feel comfortable writing comic books. A few years later, the "Sud -Ouest" journal asked Sempé and his partner Goscinny to revive the little boy. It was a success. Many picture books about "The little Nicholas" followed. In 2009, le Petit Nicolas celebrated his 50 years
What is striking is the tenderness in Sempé's work, full of colour, kind hearted eye on society. His work is delightful for your eyes and your spirit. He really has the talent to capture fugitive moments of life.
"As small as my characters are I never look down upon them. I'm somewhere in a corner of the drawing." Sempe
When you look at his work, it is true. I think Sempe understands life better than the majority of people. What life is, what are the joy, the sadness and the beauty in it. When you look at his work, you can't help it, you smile. Maybe that is the reason why he is so famous. Because first of all what one can see through his work is not just a drawing but also the man behind it his good heart. Enough words. Just enjoy it.
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| The banner reads : "Here, about 30 minutes left to wait." There are 3 banners like this one in the line, it goes up to an hour and a half. |
Jean-Jacques Sempe is a fantastic French cartoonist. He draws light-hearted cartoons about people's daily life. You may have seen his drawings on the cover of the New Yorker magazine for which he had done over a hundred covers, some of them being on display in the exposition.
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| Many paintings here. People from all ages. |
The exposition is called A little bit of Paris and other places because the drawings and paintings on display do not necessarily take place in Paris. He once said in an interview : " My paintings rarely take place in specific places, it is always made out of memories and feeling of a place."
In France, Sempe is really famous for a special character called "Le petit Nicolas", a little boy that first appeared in the Belgian Weekly newspaper "Moustique" (Mosquito) between 1955-1958. Sempe was working closely with René Groscinny a scriptwriter. Together they wrote a series of comic books about this little boy's life, Groscinny wrote the script whereas Sempe illustrated them. Later on, Sempe decided to stop the project because he did not feel comfortable writing comic books. A few years later, the "Sud -Ouest" journal asked Sempé and his partner Goscinny to revive the little boy. It was a success. Many picture books about "The little Nicholas" followed. In 2009, le Petit Nicolas celebrated his 50 years |
| Le petit Nicolas. |
"As small as my characters are I never look down upon them. I'm somewhere in a corner of the drawing." Sempe
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