Sempé’s 106 covers for the New Yorker

Perched on one of the large armchairs in the living room, a slew of children are immersed in reading a fascinating book. Colorful, joyful, light, poetic, Sempé’s illustration on the cover of the New Yorker published on October 15, 2018 celebrates – once again – his passion for books.

This is the 112th and last cover produced by Sempé for the prestigious American magazine, founded in 1925. Spread the word, Sempé was the first “Frenchie», around the same time as the Alsatian Tomi Ungerer, to work there. The artist began his collaboration from August 14, 1978.

Read alsoJean-Jacques Sempé, an anthology with providential humor

It was thanks to his friends Chaval and René Goscinny that Sempé discovered the existence of the prestigious journal. “The first time he saw my drawings, Goscinny said to me, “You should work at the New Yorker.” To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what it was. I had first vaguely heard about it from the cartoonist Chaval. Nevertheless, I worked a lot with them. I made 106 covers.”