{"product_id":"jean-jacques-sempe-original-ink-drawing-attributed","title":"Jean-Jacques Sempé Original Ink Drawing (Attributed)","description":"\u003cp\u003eHere we have a small, luminous ink drawing attributed to Jean-Jacques Sempé (1932–2022), the beloved French cartoonist whose work graced the pages of Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris Match, and over forty covers of The New Yorker. The subject is quintessential Sempé: a round, bespectacled everyman on a bicycle, one arm thrust skyward in a gesture of pure, uncomplicated joy, rolling through an open pastoral landscape rendered in the artist’s signature loose hatching. It is a tiny monument to the kind of happiness that doesn’t need an explanation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe drawing is executed in India ink on cream\/buff toned paper, approximately 5 to 6 inches square, and is signed in Sempé’s characteristic hand in the lower left corner. The looping S, the double-humped mm, the accented é, the trailing marks are all present and consistent with authenticated examples. It is professionally framed behind glass in a simple black frame with a deep burgundy mat that suits it beautifully. The line variation, ink behavior, and individual hatching marks are consistent throughout with an original hand-drawn work rather than any print process. We have been unable to locate this image among any known published prints or reproductions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis piece is therefore offered as attributed to Jean-Jacques Sempé, and prospective buyers are encouraged to seek formal authentication through the gallery at 56 rue de l’Université, Paris 75007. That said, the visual evidence here is genuinely compelling, and this image does not appear to exist in print form anywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe verso bears the original framer’s label from Hall of Frame, “You Frame It, We Frame It,” located at 1115 E. Broadway, Long Beach, California, owners Jim Toolen and Ron Roepke. The phone number on the label carries a 213 area code, which turns out to be a useful dating tool: 213 originally covered much of Southern California including Long Beach, but the region split off into its own 562 area code in January 1997. That means this piece was framed no later than the mid-1990s. Hall of Frame was established in 1979, placing the framing window somewhere between 1979 and approximately 1997. The frame, mat, and backing show age fully consistent with that timeline. What this tells us is that someone in Southern California thought enough of this drawing to have it professionally framed as original art at least 25 to 30 years ago, well before Sempé’s late-career surge in market value.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSempé spent seven decades drawing the quiet comedies and small ecstasies of ordinary life. The bicycle was one of his great recurring subjects, not as a symbol of anything in particular, just as a vehicle for the kind of weightless, arms-up happiness his characters were always stumbling into. This little drawing has that feeling completely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vintage artwork with the frame measures 6\" tall and 5\" wide. There is some slight surface wear on the paper. Please see all pics as they are part of the description. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI ship UPS fully insured to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO Boxes please). Free shipping on the rare New Yorker art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe airplane shadow is genius!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mad Van Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43124722729037,"sku":null,"price":1750.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0116\/3637\/5610\/files\/IMG_8980.jpg?v=1781410177","url":"https:\/\/madvanantiques.com\/products\/jean-jacques-sempe-original-ink-drawing-attributed","provider":"Mad Van Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}