Jean-Jacques Sempé

Jean-Jacques Sempé (Known as "Sempé")

["cartoonist","illustrator","satirist"]

Born Aug 17, 1932

Pessac, Gironde, France

Passed Away Aug 11, 2022 Draguignan, Var, France

Lifespan 89 years old

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Notice / Correction

"You become a cartoonist when you can't do anything else. It's a modest way of trying to console oneself for not being a pianist."

Archival Overview

Poetic French cartoonist and illustrator whose delicate, pastel watercolor drawings captured human foibles and joy, world-famous for co-creating the beloved Le Petit Nicolas children's series with René Goscinny and drawing 113 covers for The New Yorker.

Biographical Record

Jean-Jacques Sempé was born near Bordeaux and endured a difficult childhood marked by poverty and domestic violence, finding refuge in drawing and dreaming of joining Duke Ellington's orchestra. Expelled from school at fourteen, he forged his papers to join the French Army and arrived in Paris in the 1950s, submitting cartoons to Le Rire, Paris Match, and Punch.

In 1959, Sempé teamed with Asterix co-creator René Goscinny to create Le Petit Nicolas, a charming, innocent comic strip that blossomed into five internationally cherished books translated into dozens of languages. From 1978 onwards, Sempé forged an iconic partnership with The New Yorker, illustrating 113 celebrated cover paintings characterized by small, gentle human figures dwarfed by grandiose urban architecture or lush nature, celebrating life's quiet, poetic whimsy.

Key Life Milestones

March 29, 1959

Creation of Le Petit Nicolas with René Goscinny

Published the first serialized Petit Nicolas story in Sud Ouest Dimanche, creating a French literary classic.

August 14, 1978

First Cover for The New Yorker

Illustrated his first iconic New Yorker cover, beginning a 44-year artistic relationship spanning over 100 covers.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Montparnasse Cemetery
Paris, France

                         GPS: 48.8372, 2.3283                    

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