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Translated into 25 languages, author of thousands of drawings and over forty albums, Jean-Jacques Sempé is France's most celebrated cartoonist. For the past fifty years, ignoring trends and fashion, he has succeeded in touching the hearts of generations of people from all walks of life. 

The first to be held in Paris, this retrospective is an invitation to see the world through the eyes of this discreet, affable artist, offering the visitor a chance to (re)discover the charming music Sempé composes, so inconsolable yet cheerful, with his delicate brush strokes.

More than 300 original drawings, accompanied by Jean-Jacques Sempé’s texts, provide the visitor with an occasion to appreciate the richness and virtuosity of his prolific, light-hearted oeuvre, which oscillates between humour and poetry.

Each drawing, in all its simplicity, is a call to introspection: such is the mystery of Sempé’s unique talent, which the exhibition hopes to subtly reveal. The cartoonist becomes a painter of the soul, one who seizes fleeting moments interlaced with humour, reverie and poetry.

RATP is a partner of the exhibition.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
“Sempé, un peu de Paris et d’ailleurs” through 31 March 2012
A free exhibition at the Hôtel de Ville, salle Saint-Jean, 5, rue de Lobau 75004 PARIS
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sundays and holidays. Accessible for persons with reduced mobility.

Drawing © J-J Sempé - Editions Martine Gossieau

Drawing by Sempé