Yesterday, I went to see an exhibition of the work of Jean-Jacques Sempe at the French Institute in New York City. Many remember him as the illustrator of Le Petit Nicolas children’s books, but I know him for his work for The New Yorker. He died last August at age 89.
The exhibit is a visual treat and a reminder to us, in this new AI world, of the need for the hand of the artist.
He began doing covers for The New Yorker in 1978, right as I was forging out into the world to see if I had a career in drawing. I had not yet sold to The New Yorker, it would be another year before I did. I don’t recall the first time I saw his work-it could have been before that because I was very much aware of some French cartoonists. But his drawings definitely influenced mine.