Pencil notations on a rough submitted to The New Yorker by French artist Jean-Jacques Sempé in the early 1980s show the magazine's effective editorial hand at work. Does this or any rough drawing really need to be labeled "Rough?" Probably not, but the real question is whether this outstanding cartoon of an orchestra, if accepted, should have been published as a drawing inside the magazine or as a cover. Fortunately, the answer is spelled out: "Yes, for cover."
The New Yorker's art editor Lee Lorenz, from whose estate this preliminary drawing comes, makes an important contribution himself. He notes that the percussionist at the end of the line of appreciative musicians should be a "man with arms folded." The not-quite-right words are crossed out and instead Lorenz apparently sketches the hands-clasped gesture he wants right on the original! That is, as Sempé might have said, the pièce de résistance.
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| Jean-Jacques Sempé Fairfield Auction listing of May 7, 2023 |
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| Jean-Jacques Sempé The New Yorker, March 12, 1984 |
There is a variant version created for the French market with an unnecessarily specific title. The snare drummer's hands remain clasped together as they were on the cover of The New Yorker.
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L'ensemble instrumental Paul Poulignot |
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