Sempé - Rêver le monde

The Château de la Buzine invites young and old alike to discover or rediscover the work of an artist whose delicate line and deeply humanistic outlook continue, even today, to teach us the precious art of dreaming the world! The Château de la Buzine is hosting the first major Marseille exhibition devoted to Jean-Jacques Sempé, a leading figure in contemporary drawing whose work has conquered the world. Although his line is universal, Sempé had an intimate relationship with Provence. A Parisian, he spent many summers in Saint-Tropez and later in Ampus, in the Haut-Var. This attachment can be found throughout the exhibition, notably in the famous covers of Marcel Pagnol’s works created from 2004 onward. Designed as a journey through six chapters, Dreaming the World traces several decades of his career, from Le Petit Nicolas to the hundred or so covers created for the prestigious The New Yorker. Around fifty original drawings and as many reproductions engage in dialogue with rare editions and objects from the cartoonist’s studio—brushes, inks and tools—testimonials to an artist who marked his era through his humor, sensitivity, genius of line and the softness of his watercolors. Whatever the technique, Sempé developed a unique style, with an elegant and fragile line. Far from political satire, his sometimes biting drawings offer a timeless vision of human relationships. Populated by little characters immersed in the vastness of the world around them, his creations reflect deep empathy for his subjects. That is the singularity of his art: dreaming the world rather than judging it, casting a subtle gaze upon it and transforming everyday life into poetry. Young audiences are invited to explore Sempé’s world, while works by Marseille artists revisiting his favorite themes root his work in contemporary creation.