World-Renowned Illustrator Jean-Jacques Semp? Passes Away at 89 Years Old

Starting with 'Kkoma Nicola', Building a Career as an Illustrator
'The Child Who Can't Ride a Bicycle', 'The Child Whose Face Turns Red', and More

French illustrator Jean-Jacques Semp?, who expressed human loneliness through delicate lines and calm coloring, passed away on the 11th (local time) at the age of 89. Semp?'s friend, journalist Marc Lecarpentier, said that "Semp? peacefully closed his eyes in front of his wife and friends."

Born in 1932 in Bordeaux, France, Semp? touched readers' hearts with his warm and humorous drawings. As a child, he wanted to become a band musician, and while sketching these musicians, he became deeply immersed in the world of drawing. In 1959, he met Ren? Goscinny and worked together on the children's story "Le Petit Nicolas," building his career as an illustrator.

His major works include "Nothing Is Easy," "The Blushing Child," "Special Feelings," "Early Morning," "Summer Vacation," and "The Child Who Can't Ride a Bicycle." He was recognized not only as an illustrator but also as a writer, as he wrote and illustrated his own texts. He received high praise for humorously expressing the contradictions of humans and society that produce loneliness, conveying more than many sociological papers.

Semp? is also famous as the illustrator of the globally successful "Mr. Sommer" stories. Recognized early for his outstanding drawing skills, he created fifty-three covers for the American magazine "The New Yorker." These illustrations were later compiled and published as the book "Semp?'s New York Travels."

Reflecting on his drawing work during his lifetime, Semp? said, "I always tried to immerse myself in an abstract world by letting go of everything in daily life. Like a pianist warming up by practicing scales, I always drew large buildings or trees, and the small men or women passing underneath them."

"There was a time when I bought a whole ream of paper and kept working until I drew a good picture. Even after using up the entire ream, the results were unsatisfactory. I think I must have drawn at least 100 sheets. Sometimes, I spent two months working on a single illustration. And then, drawing again, and again, and again..."