A Few Parisians: Quai Branly

You might remember our Artist Spotlight featuring David Cessac. David is an illustrator and cartoonist based in Paris. His drawings, characterized by fierce humor and expressiveness, have attracted various magazines, communication agencies and cultural organizations. His educational background combining Art and Political Science has given him perfect insight into human interactions. With pens, pencils, pastels and ink at his finger tips, Cessac weaves a universe of poetic and friendly characters and environments. In his new column, A Few Parisians, David will draw the quirky characters he comes across in Paris.

On a Wednesday afternoon, the Quai Branly can provide a place for quiet contemplation. The Eiffel Tower is not so far away, just like the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Grand and Petit Palais. Everything is so close… And on the « Quai » itself, which literally means the banks of the Seine, there’s the Musée du Quai Branly, where children gather with their moms or nannies on this special day (there’s no school on Wednesdays in France!).

It’s one of the most recent museums in Paris, dedicated to the arts of Africa, Oceania, Asia, and the Americas. I don’t go there very often, but every time I walk along the Musée, passing by this huge green wall covered with exotic plants, moss and grass, I’m fascinated. And I just feel like a kid who climbs into a dark attic to find treasures when I enter the rooms to discover the collections of the museum.

All these masks, weapons, outfits from all around the world make this museum the perfect place for kids indeed, an open door for their imagination.

Sometimes, I wish I could wear one of the masks hanging on the walls. But I’m just an adult and I’m not allowed to do that (sigh).

Get in touch with the author/illustrator at @David_Cessac and on Facebook, and check out his website. Check back soon for the next installation in the column A Few Parisians. You can buy this print on The Untapped Shop.