Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau | |
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Born | Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau 5 July 1889 Maisons-Laffitte, France |
Died | 11 October 1963 Milly-la-Forêt, France | (aged 74)
Other names | The Frivolous Prince |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1908–1963 |
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Website | jeancocteau |
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French and Francophone literature |
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Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (
He is best known for his novels Le Grand Écart (1923),
Though his body of work encompassed many different mediums, Cocteau insisted on calling himself a poet, classifying the great variety of his works – poems, novels, plays, essays, drawings, films – as "poésie", "poésie de roman", "poésie de thêatre", "poésie critique", "poésie graphique" and "poésie cinématographique".[4]
Biography
Early life
Cocteau was born in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, to Georges Cocteau and his wife, Eugénie Lecomte, a socially prominent Parisian family. His father, a lawyer and amateur painter, committed suicide when Cocteau was nine. From 1900 to 1904, Cocteau attended the Lycée Condorcet where he met and began a relationship with schoolmate Pierre Dargelos, who reappeared throughout Cocteau's work, "John Cocteau: Erotic Drawings."[5] He left home at fifteen. He published his first volume of poems, Aladdin's Lamp, at nineteen. Cocteau soon became known in Bohemian artistic circles as The Frivolous Prince, the title of a volume he published at twenty-two. Edith Wharton described him as a man "to whom every great line of poetry was a sunrise, every sunset the foundation of the Heavenly City..."[6]
Early career
In his early twenties, Cocteau became associated with the writers
An important exponent of
Friendship with Raymond Radiguet
In 1918 he met the French poet Raymond Radiguet. They collaborated extensively, socialized, and undertook many journeys and vacations together. Cocteau also got Radiguet exempted from military service. Admiring of Radiguet's great literary talent, Cocteau promoted his friend's works in his artistic circle and arranged for the publication by Grasset of Le Diable au corps (a largely autobiographical story of an adulterous relationship between a married woman and a younger man), exerting his influence to have the novel awarded the "Nouveau Monde" literary prize. Some contemporaries and later commentators thought there might have been a romantic component to their friendship.[9] Cocteau himself was aware of this perception, and worked earnestly to dispel the notion that their relationship was sexual in nature.[10]
There is disagreement over Cocteau's reaction to Radiguet's sudden death in 1923, with some claiming that it left him stunned, despondent and prey to
Further works
On 15 June 1926 Cocteau's play
In 1930 Cocteau made his first film
1940–1944
Throughout his life, Cocteau tried to maintain a distance from political movements, confessing to a friend that "my politics are non-existent."
Although in 1938 Cocteau had compared
In 1940, Le Bel Indifférent, Cocteau's play written for and starring Édith Piaf (who died the day before Cocteau), was enormously successful.[19]
Later years
Cocteau's later years are mostly associated with his films. Cocteau's films, most of which he both wrote and directed, were particularly important in introducing the avant-garde into French cinema and influenced to a certain degree the upcoming French New Wave genre.[3]
Following
In 1945 Cocteau was one of several designers who created sets for the Théâtre de la Mode. He drew inspiration from filmmaker René Clair while making Tribute to René Clair: I Married a Witch. The maquette is described in his "Journal 1942–1945", in his entry for 12 February 1945:
I saw the model of my set. Fashion bores me, but I am amused by the set and fashion placed together. It is a smoldering maid's room. One discovers an aerial view of Paris through the wall and ceiling holes. It creates vertigo. On the iron bed lies a fainted bride. Behind her stand several dismayed ladies. On the right, a very elegant lady washes her hands in a flophouse basin. Through the unhinged door on the left, a lady enters with raised arms. Others are pushed against the walls. The vision provoking this catastrophe is a bride-witch astride a broom, flying through the ceiling, her hair and train streaming.
In 1956 Cocteau decorated the Chapelle Saint-Pierre in Villefranche-sur-Mer with mural paintings. The following year he also decorated the marriage hall at the Hôtel de Ville in Menton.[20]
Private life
Jean Cocteau never hid his
As far back as I can remember, and even at an age when the mind does not yet influence the senses, I find traces of my love of boys. I have always loved the strong sex that I find legitimate to call the fair sex. My misfortunes came from a society that condemns the rare as a crime and forces us to reform our inclinations.
Frequently his work, either literary (
In the 1930s, Cocteau is rumoured to have had a very brief affair with Princess
Cocteau's longest-lasting relationships were with French actors
(1949).Death
Cocteau died of a heart attack at his château in Milly-la-Forêt, Essonne, France, on 11 October 1963 at the age of 74. His friend, French singer Édith Piaf, died the day before but that was announced on the morning of Cocteau's day of death; it has been said, in a story which is almost certainly apocryphal, that his heart failed upon hearing of Piaf's death. Cocteau's health had already been in decline for several months, and he had previously had a severe heart attack on 22 April 1963. A more plausible suggestion for the reason behind this decline in health has been proposed by author Roger Peyrefitte,[24] who notes that Cocteau had been devastated by a breach with his longtime friend, socialite and notable patron Francine Weisweiller, as a result of an affair she had been having with a minor writer.[25] Weisweiller and Cocteau did not reconcile until shortly before Cocteau's death.
According to his wishes Cocteau is buried beneath the floor of the Chapelle Saint-Blaise des Simples in Milly-la-Forêt.[26] The epitaph on his gravestone set in the floor of the chapel reads: "I stay with you" ("Je reste avec vous").
Honours and awards
In 1955, Cocteau was made a member of the
During his life, Cocteau was commander of the
Works
Literature
Poetry
- 1909: La Lampe d'Aladin
- 1910: Le Prince frivole
- 1912: La Danse de Sophocle
- 1919: Ode à Picasso – Le Cap de Bonne-Espérance
- 1920: Escale. Poésies (1917–1920)
- 1922: Vocabulaire
- 1923: La Rose de François – Plain-Chant
- 1925: Cri écrit
- 1926: L'Ange Heurtebise
- 1927: Opéra
- 1934: Mythologie
- 1939: Énigmes
- 1941: Allégories
- 1945: Léone
- 1946: La Crucifixion
- 1948: Poèmes
- 1952: Le Chiffre sept – La Nappe du Catalan (in collaboration with Georges Hugnet)
- 1953: Dentelles d'éternité – Appoggiatures
- 1954: Clair-obscur
- 1958: Paraprosodies
- 1961: Cérémonial espagnol du Phénix – La Partie d'échecs
- 1962: Le Requiem
- 1968: Faire-Part (posthume)
Novels
- 1919: Le Potomak (definitive edition: 1924)
- 1923: Thomas l'imposteur
- 1928: Le Livre blanc
- 1929: Les Enfants terribles
- 1940: La Fin du Potomak
Theatre
- 1917: Parade, ballet (music by Erik Satie, choreography by Léonide Massine)
- 1921: Les mariés de la tour Eiffel, ballet (music by Georges Auric, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Tailleferre)
- 1922: Antigone
- 1924: Roméo et Juliette
- 1925: Orphée
- 1927: Oedipus Rex, opera-oratorio (music by Igor Stravinsky)
- 1930: La Voix humaine
- 1934: La Machine infernale
- 1936: L'École des veuves
- 1937: Œdipe-roi. Théâtre Antoine
- 1938: Théâtre Antoine
- 1940: Le bel indifférent
- 1940: Les Monstres sacrés
- 1941: La Machine à écrire
- 1943: Renaud et Armide. L'Épouse injustement soupçonnée
- 1944: L'Aigle à deux têtes
- 1946: Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, ballet by Roland Petit
- 1948: Théâtre I and II
- 1951: Bacchus
- 1960: Nouveau théâtre de poche
- 1962: L'Impromptu du Palais-Royal
- 1971: Le Gendarme incompris (in collaboration with Raymond Radiguet and Francis Poulenc)
Poetry and criticism
- 1918: Le Coq et l'Arlequin
- 1920: Carte blanche
- 1922: Le Secret professionnel
- 1926: Le Rappel à l'ordre – Lettre à Jacques Maritain – Le Numéro Barbette
- 1930: Opium
- 1932: Essai de critique indirecte
- 1935: Portraits-Souvenir
- 1937: Mon premier voyage (Around the World in 80 Days)
- 1943: Le Greco
- 1946: La Mort et les Statues (photos by Pierre Jahan)
- 1947: Le Foyer des artistes – La Difficulté d'être
- 1949: Lettres aux Américains – Reines de la France
- 1951: Jean Marais – A Discussion about Cinematography (with André Fraigneau)
- 1952: Gide vivant
- 1953: Journal d'un inconnu. Démarche d'un poète
- 1955: Colette (Discourse on the reception at the Royal Academy of Belgium) – Discourse on the reception at the Académie Française
- 1956: Discours d'Oxford
- 1957: Entretiens sur le musée de Dresde (with Louis Aragon) – La Corrida du 1er mai
- 1950: Poésie critique I
- 1960: Poésie critique II
- 1962: Le Cordon ombilical
- 1963: La Comtesse de Noailles, oui et non
- 1964: Portraits-Souvenir (posthumous; A discussion with Roger Stéphane)
- 1965: Entretiens avec André Fraigneau (posthumous)
- 1973: Jean Cocteau par Jean Cocteau (posthumous; A discussion with William Fielfield)
- 1973: Du cinématographe (posthumous). Entretiens sur le cinématographe (posthumous)
Journalistic poetry
- 1935–1938 (posthumous)
Film
Director
- 1925: Jean Cocteau fait du cinéma lost[27]
- 1930: Le Sang d'un poète
- 1946: La Belle et la Bête
- 1948: L'Aigle à deux têtes
- 1948: Les Parents terribles
- 1950: Orphée
- 1950: Coriolan unreleased home movie[28]
- 1952: La Villa Santo-Sospir
- 1955: L'Amour sous l'électrode
- 1957: 8 × 8: A Chess Sonata in 8 Movements
- 1960: Le Testament d'Orphée
Scriptwriter
- 1943: L'Éternel Retour directed by Jean Delannoy
- 1944: Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne directed by Robert Bresson
- 1948: Ruy Blas directed by Pierre Billon
- 1950: Les Enfants terribles directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, script by Jean Cocteau based on his novel
- 1951: La Couronne Noire directed by Luis Saslavsky
- 1961: La Princesse de Clèves directed by Jean Delannoy
- 1965: Thomas l'imposteur directed by Georges Franju, script by Jean Cocteau based on his novel
Dialogue writer
- 1943: Le Baron fantôme (+ actor) directed by Serge de Poligny
- 1961: La Princesse de Clèves directed by Jean Delannoy
- 1965: Thomas l'imposteur directed by Georges Franju
Director of Photography
- 1950: Un chant d'amour réalisé par Jean Genet
Artworks
- 1924: Dessins
- 1925: Le Mystère de Jean l'oiseleur
- 1926: Maison de santé
- 1929: 25 dessins d'un dormeur
- 1935: 60 designs for Les Enfants Terribles
- 1940: Le combattant
- 1941: Drawings in the margins of Chevaliers de la Table ronde
- 1948: Drôle de ménage
- 1957: La Chapelle Saint-Pierre, Villefranche-sur-Mer
- 1958: La Salle des mariages, City Hall of Menton – La Chapelle Saint-Pierre (lithographies)
- 1958: Un Arlequin (The Harlequin)
- 1959: Gondol des morts
- 1960: Chapelle Saint-Blaise-des-Simples, Milly-la-Forêt
- 1960: Stained glass windows of the Church of Saint Maximin, Metz, France[29][circular reference]
Recordings
- Colette par Jean Cocteau, discours de réception à l'Académie Royale de Belgique, Ducretet-Thomson 300 V 078 St.
- Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel and Portraits-Souvenir, La Voix de l'Auteur LVA 13
- Plain-chant by Jean Marais, extracts from the piece Orphée by Jean-Pierre Aumont, Michel Bouquet, Monique Mélinand, Les Parents terribles by Yvonne de Bray and Jean Marais, L'Aigle à deux têtes par Edwige Feuillère and Jean Marais, L'Encyclopédie Sonore 320 E 874, 1971
- Collection of three vinyl recordings of Jean Cocteau including La Voix humaine by Simone Signoret, 18 songs composed by Louis Bessières, Bee Michelin and Renaud Marx, on double-piano Paul Castanier, Le Discours de réception à l'Académie française, Jacques Canetti JC1, 1984
- Derniers propos à bâtons rompus avec Jean Cocteau, 16 September 1963 à Milly-la-Forêt, Bel Air 311035
- Les Enfants terribles, radio version with Jean Marais, ISBN 2-908325-07-1, 1992
- Anthology, 4 CD containing numerous poems and texts read by the author, Anna la bonne, La Dame de Monte-Carlo and Mes sœurs, n'aimez pas les marins by Edith Piaf, La Voix humaine by Berthe Bovy, Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel with Jean Le Poulain, Jacques Charon and Jean Cocteau, discourse on the reception at the Académie française, with extracts from Les Parents terribles, La Machine infernale, pieces from Parade on piano with two hands by Georges Auric and Francis Poulenc, Frémeaux & Associés FA 064, 1997
- Poems by Jean Cocteau read by the author, CD EMI 8551082, 1997
- Hommage à Jean Cocteau, mélodies d'Henri Sauguet, Arthur Honegger, Louis Durey, Darius Milhaud, Erik Satie, Jean Wiener, Max Jacob, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Delage, Georges Auric, Guy Sacre, by Jean-François Gardeil (baritone) and Billy Eidi (piano), CD Adda 581177, 1989
- Le Testament d'Orphée, journal sonore, by Roger Pillaudin, 2 CD INA / Radio France 211788, 1998
Journals
- 1946: La Belle et la Bête (film journal)
- 1949: Maalesh (journal of a stage production)
- 1983: Le Passé défini (posthumous)
- 1989: Journal, 1942–1945
Stamps
- 1960: Marianne de Cocteau
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "Jean Cocteau". www.artnet.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Jean Cocteau". Poetry Foundation. 28 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Biography". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ a b c Francis Steegmuller "Jean Cocteau: A Brief Biography", Jean Cocteau and the French Scene, Abbeville Press 1984
- ISBN 3-8228-6532-X.
- ^ Wharton, Edith (17 December 2014) [1st pub. 1934]. "Chapter 11". A Backward Glance. eBooks@Adelaide. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ISBN 9780671454463.
- ^ Thompson, Daniella (6 May 2002). "How the Ox got its name, and other Parisian legends". The Boeuf Chronicles. Musica Brasiliensis. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2016. (Autoplaying music on site)
- ^ Williams 2008, p. 32.
- ^ Francis Steegmuller (1970). Cocteau, A Biography. Boston, Little, Brown.
Monsieur, I have just received your letter and must reply despite my regret at being unable to explain the inexplicable. It is possible that my friendship for your son and my deep admiration for his gifts (which are becoming increasingly apparent) are of an uncommon intensity, and that from the outside it is hard to make out how far my feelings go. His literary future is of primary consideration with me: he is a kind of prodigy. Scandal would spoil all this freshness. You cannot possibly believe for a second that I do not try to avoid that by all the means in my power
- ^ "Jean Cocteau Biography – Jean Cocteau Website". Netcomuk.co.uk. 11 October 1963. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ Neal Oxenhandler "The Theater of Jean Cocteau", Jean Cocteau and the French scene, Abbeville Press 1984
- ^ Arnaud, Claude (2016). Jean Cocteau: A Life. Yale University Press. p. 718.
- ^ a b c Arnaud, Claude (2016). Jean Cocteau: A Life. Yale University Press. p. 628.
- ^ Arnaud, Claude (2016). Jean Cocteau: A Life. Yale University Press. p. 576.
- ISBN 9780231127400.
- ^ Williams 2008, pp. 182–185.
- ^ Arnaud, Claude (2016). Jean Cocteau: A Life. Yale University Press. p. 745.
- ^ Cocteau, Jean. "Musée SACEM : Edith Piaf et Jean Cocteau". musee.sacem.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Jean Cocteau and the French scene, Abbeville Press 1984, p. 227
- ^ "Cocteau's White Paper on Homophobia". rictornorton.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ISBN 2-85018-295-8.
- ^ "Légendes d'Écran Noir: Jean Marais". ecrannoir.fr. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Propos secrets, Paris: Albin Michel, 1977
- ^ "Francine Weisweiller". www.telegraph.co.uk. January 2004. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 8971). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- ISBN 978-0-300-17057-3. Archivedfrom the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ Coriolan, archived from the original on 9 June 2019, retrieved 31 August 2019
- ^ fr:Église Saint-Maximin de Metz
References
- Breton, André (1953). La Clé des champs, p. 77. Paris: Éditions du Sagittaire.
- Crucifixion translated into Bengali by Malay Roy Choudhury
- ISBN 0-316-81219-6.
- Williams, James S. (2008). Jean Cocteau. London: Reaktion. ISBN 978-1861893543.
Further reading
- Evans, Arthur B. (1977). Jean Cocteau and his Films of Orphic Identity. Philadelphia: Art Alliance Press. ISBN 9780879820114.
- Peters, Arthur King. (1986) Jean Cocteau and His World. New York: Vendôme Press. ISBN 0865650683
- Tsakiridou, Cornelia A., ed. (1997). Reviewing Orpheus: Essays on the Cinema and Art of Jean Cocteau. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press. ISBN 0-8387-5379-5.
- Album Cocteau. Biographie et iconographie de Pierre Bergé. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. Éditions Gallimard, 2006. ISBN 2070118088.
External links
- Jean Cocteau Papers at the Harry Ransom Center
- Jean Cocteau at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jean Cocteau at IMDb
- Works by or about Jean Cocteau at Internet Archive
- Works by Jean Cocteau at Faded Page (Canada)
- Works by Jean Cocteau at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Jean Cocteau short Biography
- Cocteau/cinema Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)
- Jean Cocteau at Curlie
- Cocteau CMEF Cap d'Ail
- Cocteau et La chapelle Saint-Blaise-des-Simples
- Edith Piaf
- William Fifield (Summer–Fall 1964). "Jean Cocteau, The Art of Fiction No. 34". The Paris Review. Summer-Fall 1964 (32).
- Maison Jean Cocteau – Cocteau's former home