Sempé disperses part of his personal collection in a first auction

The cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé will be entitled to the approach of his 89 years to a first auction dedicated to his work, on June 19 at Artcurial.

"

I am exhilarated at the idea that people buy my drawings,

" said the designer of Petit Nicolas, words quoted in the catalog of the sale.

It makes me feel like I've done something acceptable, when I often think the opposite.

And I fear, alas, that it flatters my vanity enormously, which is not the best side of my personality!

"

To read also: Jean-Jacques Sempé, eternal poet

No less than 54 original works by the French designer, both magazine covers and drawings made in India ink on paper or in watercolor, will be offered for sale, which is intended as a tribute to this great French master of the humor and poetry.

Le Coursier

:

Indian

ink, watercolor and graphite on paper for a drawing published in 2009, then 2016 in the book Sempé à New York published by Denoël / Martine Gossieaux.

Signed and framed, estimated between 30,000 -and 50,000 euros.

Artcurial

Mixing mockery and modesty, the sale will encompass his entire career from the 1960s to today: illustrations for the

New Yorker

or

Punch

to those for

Paris Match

or

Le Figaro

.

The works are estimated between 10,000 and 50,000 euros.

The Bus

 :

Indian

ink and watercolor on paper for a drawing made at the beginning of the 2000s and published in 2011 in the book

Un peu de Paris et

autre, published by Martine Gossieaux.

Signed and framed, estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 euros.

Artcurial

“

This is the first time that Sempé has sold,

” explained Éric Leroy, the sales expert, to our colleagues at France Info.

These are the masterpieces that he had put aside, that he had kept preciously.

It's kind of his personal selection.

After 70 years of career, I think it is an event.

It's an exceptional sale, a museum exhibition.

I have been doing this work for Artcurial for over fifteen years, and it is my best exhibition.

"

The Luxembourg garden:

India ink on paper for a drawing representing one of the entrances to the Luxembourg garden, made in early 2000, printed in numbered silkscreen by the Galerie Martine Gossieaux.

Signed and framed, estimated between 30,000 and 50,000 euros.

Artcurial

Some productions feature the emblematic characters of Sempé - the Little Nicolas produced with René Goscinny, but also

Monsieur Lambert

,

Raoul Taburin

.

Without forgetting those from his series on musicians, New York and its skyscrapers, Saint-Tropez ...

Different Scales

 : India ink, watercolor and graphite on paper for the cover of

The New Yorker,

November 14, 2011. Signed and framed, estimated between 30,000 and 50,000 euros.

Artcurial

To read also: Jean-Jacques Sempé, eternal poet