"The breath which lives in me, I know little about it, but it is not tender. I have the anguish of the hour and I am afraid of the life "- Jean Cocteau
Using poet Jean Cocteau’s own words, we can present the many sides of his creativity in the following manner: “Poetry in novels, poetry in theater, poetry in criticism, poetry in movies.”
A poet, naturally, a novelist (Les Enfants Terribles), a playwright (Les Parents Terribles), a movie director ( Orphée, La Belle et la Bête, etc), but also a stage designer for the theater, a ceramist, and a lithographer. He drew billboards (Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, decorated the walls of chapels (Villefranche-sur-Mer, Milly-la-Forêt, Londres) and a wedding hall (Menton), and finally created a few designs for tapestries. He did the illustrations for a great many books, among which some of his own novels (Thomas l’Imposteur, Le Potomak ), and the texts of many writers and poets (Radiguet, Hugnet, etc).
His artistic works are still widely shown today. To some, the works produced in the early part of his life is the most authentic. Later, the drawing became a continuous line, that satisfied itself with mere repetition. Cocteau liked to work on mythological themes and subjects, on portraits, and domestic scenes. Many of his drawings have been collected and published as albums Dessins, Le Mystère de Jean l’Oiseleur, etc).
Recognition and honors came to him at the end of his life. Jean Cocteau died in 1963.
