Jean-Jacques Sempé (1932-2022)

Le Concert des Beatles, original illustration for the cover of Pariscope, October 13, 1965 1965 Indian ink and colored inks on paper, signed lower right 53 x 40 cm In June 1965, Beatles-mania was in full swing. The four boys in the wind kick off their European tour in Paris. No doubt Sempé remembered this concert when, a few months later, he produced this exceptional illustration for the cover of the October 13 issue of Pariscope. An issue in which René Goscinny wrote a text entitled "Vivent les interludes" ("Long live the interludes"). Was Sempé inspired by the presence of his accomplice and friend, with whom he created Le Petit Nicolas? In any case, he created an irresistible image, a jewel of humor and wit that has lost none of its drollery sixty years later. In an Italian-style opera house, a band of four young boys with Beatles haircuts give a wild concert. In the auditorium, contrast! Tuxedos, bow ties and evening gowns. The posh audience of classical music concerts revels in the air of penetration... To reinforce what would otherwise have been an amusing discrepancy, Sempé introduces a spotlight on an audience member in the foreground, who turns to his two chatting neighbors. Visibly annoyed, he tells them, with a finger in front of their mouths, to be silent and let him enjoy this noble music... All the spirit of Sempé is here, and the delicious perfume of the sixties too. This drawing is historic. In 1965, Sempé did not yet have behind him the hundreds of covers he would draw during his career for national and international magazines. This is one of his first covers for the general press. It's unquestionably one of his most iconic, on a par with the masterpieces he would later produce for Télérama and the New Yorker.