All our pictures

It doesn't matter if there are two of us, seems to say Jean-Jacques Sempé on this tasty drawing where we find all his art of detail, composition and shifting. The draftsman has made himself the observer par excellence of the small twists and winks of everyday life, in the city or at the sea, from France to the United States. The infinite is in constant dialogue with the infinitesimal, solitude with the crowd, intimacy with the sociological.

With Jean-Jacques Sempé, let's rediscover the nostalgic perfume of rear platform buses. "We used to catch terrible colds but that was part of life in Paris! "recalls the designer who made Paris an inexhaustible source of inspiration. An undisputed master of the art of detail, an eternal music lover, Sempé conjures up the subtle shadows of Duke Ellington, Yves Montand or the pianist Samson François, but also memories of the political struggle between communists and anti-communists in the heyday of the 1960s.

Under Jean-Jacques Sempé's pencil, the little joys of childhood become these indelible memories that we remember with a nostalgic smile. Here, the sacred bathing of the summer vacations, impatiently awaited the rest of the year, becomes a swarm of children, stirred up in the immensity of the ocean. We swim, splash, float, splash... a wave of carefree happiness, before the big plunge into adult life.

For several years now, Soledad has been collaborating with Image Republic, creating a very colourful collection of feminine illustrations.

"Jazz is to music what humor drawing is to painting", this quote lent to Duke Elligton and often used by Jean-Jacques Sempé to describe his work, made of complexity disguised as lightness. The music that would have "saved" his life, and especially musicians, jazz legends or amateurs, are themes of predilection for the draftsman. No wonder, then, that a New York jazz club becomes a refuge here to breathe swing into the gloomy winter.

For several years now, Soledad has been collaborating with Image Republic, creating a very colourful collection of feminine illustrations.

How beautiful Paris is at night! Jean-Jacques Sempé delicately cuts it into quarters, stretching its streets to the horizon. The Eiffel Tower watches, golden, over the city that darkens. In the artist eye of Sempé, master of detail, the gleams in the windows encrust themselves under the roofs of television antennas, the light of the headlights reveals the passers-by; the street lamps and signs cut out the coming night.

After Paris, New York is the city of predilection for Jean-Jacques Sempé's drawings. Unique for a Frenchman, he drew 101 covers of The New Yorker, fulfilling his teenage dream. Who can capture the poetry and irony of the megalopolis with such subtlety, if not this detail artist with a humorous look? With Sempé New York is a festival of colors and styles, through its communities, its rites and its incessant movement.

Whatever Jean-Jacques Sempé's drawings, there are always at least two worlds that overlap. While adults sadden by the weather, grey and dull, children enjoy and snort freely, red with pleasure and drunk with games. It's a real invitation to see life differently, and try to keep a child's look in everything, free and offbeat!

Feline presence, graceful silhouette, purring accomplice ... Under the affectionate trait of Jean-Jacques Sempé, cats become mysterious and endearing characters. The compositions of these drawings often revolve around their pensive gaze on the world. Silent spectator of the city, the cat oscillates between the fascination for the agitation, and the melancholy of not being part of it.

After Paris, New York is the city of predilection for Jean-Jacques Sempé's drawings. Unique for a Frenchman, he drew 101 covers of The New Yorker, fulfilling his teenage dream. Who can capture the poetry and irony of the megalopolis with such subtlety, if not this detail artist with a humorous look? With Sempé New York is a festival of colors and styles, through its communities, its rites and its incessant movement.

For several years now, Soledad has been collaborating with Image Republic, creating a very colourful collection of feminine illustrations.

Drawer of the joys of childhood, Jean-Jacques Sempé succeeds under his mischievous trait to awaken our nostalgic memories. Running in the sand after seagulls to make them fly away in a cloud is perhaps a stupidity, but above all a simple pleasure. Pure privilege of childhood, these joyful moments of unreasonable acts give wings to (en)fly a few moments of carelessness.

We cross all of Paris in Saint-Germain-des-Prés! Under the mischievous eye of Jean-Jacques Sempé, the terrace of the famous Café de Flore extends to the traffic jams of cars and Parisians on the mythical crossroads. The profusion of faces and situations is an inexhaustible mine for sociological exploration! If you can't find peace and quiet there, you look for yourself and you find yourself there.

All of Jean-Jacques Sempé's subtle poetry and derision are found in this drawing. The Eiffel Tower, like an oversized beast emerging from the jungle, stands in the back of the Parisian, impressive and reassuring at the same time. With a shy look, the tiny communicates with the immense, and normality with dreams of grandeur. From the 7th arrondissement to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris is a constant subject of observation for Sempé.

On three we go? Many of Jean-Jacques Sempé's drawings celebrate the joy of being together. Childish friendships of a summer or a lifetime, in a duo or in an organized gang... but always to make the 400 moves, because it's still too early to be wise. Our little group in swimsuit fuse arm in arm to reach the sea, in an impatient and carefree moment where we hurry to be happy.