French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, father of Little Nicholas, dies

French cartoonist

, known for the adventures of

and his caricatures in the press, has died at the age of

, his biographer reported.

In addition to his famous story, an idealized vision of childhood in 1950s France that became an international hit,

also illustrated almost a hundred covers for the American magazine

.

"The cartoonist

passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 11, at the age of 89, at his vacation home, surrounded by his wife and friends," his biographer and friend,

, said in a statement .

"The tender irony, the delicacy of his intelligence, the jazz: we will not be able to forget

. We will cruelly miss his gaze and his pencil," said French President

.

Born in

(south-western France) in 1932,

had a difficult childhood as

of his mother's affair with his boss, living first in a foster home and then with his violent mother and alcoholic stepfather.

His dream was to be a jazz pianist

, but he ended up leaving school at age 14 and entering the army by lying about his age.

However, military life was not for him, so he began to sell drawings to Parisian newspapers.

Working in a press agency, he befriended the legendary cartoonist

(one of the fathers of

in 1959

.

's stories

were a way to revisit the misery I endured growing up while reassuring myself that everything had gone well,"

said in 2018.

Although now an international success, with more than

, the stories went largely unnoticed upon publication and it was not until 1978, when he was hired by

, that he achieved a steady income.

In his stories he placed

, sometimes revealing scathing and amusing truths but without intending to offend.

A kindness that contrasted with his painful childhood.

"You never get over your childhood,"

he said in his 80s, after decades of avoiding the subject.

"You try to solve some things, make the most beautiful memories, but you never get over it."

"He is no longer here, but his drawings are timeless," French Culture Minister

said .

"His tenderness of him, his poetry and his mischief...he taught us to look at the world through the eyes of a child," she added.

In his latest drawing, which appeared in the August 4-10 issue of the

h magazine,

already launches a message with a farewell air: a painter working in a rural landscape and the message "Think about not forgetting me".

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