Sempé Exhibition in Paris

This afternoon we stood in line at Paris's Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) for a superb exhibition on the French artist/cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, known to the world (literally) simply as Sempé. It was large enough that we left after seeing about half (we'll return before it closes on March 31st--extended six weeks!). I was particularly tickled by some of his New Yorker covers--1978-2011; I think all of them are on display, with both the original drawings and the covers themselves.

The Hôtel de Ville is a huge, ornate building with at least two exhibition spaces (the blip shows today's show--the chandeliers on the wall are projected). The exhibitions are always very high quality, always free, and one always stands in line. Today it was 30 minutes, less than usual, probably because of the cold (which is not letting up, notably in eastern Europe, where it has been utterly brutal in places). As I write, TV weather is announcing that 11 inches (25 cm) of snow are expected in Rome; we have had only traces of snow.