Jean Cocteau facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean Cocteau
Cocteau in 1923
Born	Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (1889-07-05)5 July 1889 Maisons-Laffitte, France
Died	11 October 1963(1963-10-11) (aged 74) Milly-la-Forêt, France
Other names	The Frivolous Prince
Occupation	Poet playwright novelist filmmaker visual artist designer
Years active	1908–1963
Partner(s)	Raymond Radiguet (1919–1923) Jean Bourgoint (1925) Jean Desbordes (1926–1933) Marcel Khill (1933–1937) Jean Marais (1937–1947) Édouard Dermit (1947–1963)
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Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was an influential figure in early 20th century art.

He is best known for his novels Le Grand Écart (1923), Le Livre blanc (1928), and Les Enfants Terribles (1929); the stage plays La Voix Humaine (1930), La Machine Infernale (1934), Les Parents terribles (1938), La Machine à écrire (1941), and L'Aigle à deux têtes (1946); and the films The Blood of a Poet (1930), Les Parents Terribles (1948), Beauty and the Beast (1946), Orpheus (1950), and Testament of Orpheus (1960), which alongside Blood of a Poet and Orpheus constitute the so-called Orphic Trilogy.

Though his body of work encompassed many different mediums, Cocteau insisted on calling himself a poet.

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, died when Cocteau was nine. From 1900 to 1904, Cocteau attended the Lycée Condorcet. He left home at fifteen. He published his first volume of poems, Aladdin's Lamp, at nineteen.

Artistic career

Portrait of Jean Cocteau in his 20s by Spanish painter Federico de Madrazo y Ochoa

Cocteau wrote or worked on 21 stage performances, some of which were ballets, and some were plays. Cocteau's movies, most of which he both wrote and directed, were particularly important in introducing the avant-garde into French cinema and influenced the upcoming French New Wave genre.

He also worked with Pablo Picasso on several projects and was friends with most of the European art community. In all his creative work, he was a modernist.

Cocteau was involved in Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from the first season in Paris, 1909. He wrote scenarios (librettos) for Fokine's Le Dieu Blue in 1912, Massine's Parade in 1917 and Nijinska's Le Train Bleu in 1924. He also designed company posters, and worked for several other ballet companies. He wrote many articles on dance, and made sketches of many in Diaghilev's circle.

In 1940, Le Bel Indifférent, Cocteau's play written for and starring Édith Piaf, was enormously successful.

Cocteau directed eleven movies in avant-gard style, wrote scripts for six movies and dialogue for three, and directed the photography for one more. Some of his most well-known were Blood of a Poet (1930), Les Parents terribles (1948), and Orpheus (1949).

Cocteau wrote extensively, including poetry. All of it is in French, but some is available in translation.

Cocteau wrote five novels. The most important of these was probably Les Enfants terribles (1929). He also published 23 books or pamphlets of original poetry, and 26 volumes of poetic criticism and collections. He illustrated 12 works of poetry. He made a number of recordings, mostly spoken poems.

Private life

Jean Cocteau never hid his homosexuality. His longest-lasting relationships were with French actors Jean Marais and Édouard Dermit.

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.

According to his wishes Cocteau is buried beneath the floor of the Chapelle Saint-Blaise des Simples in Milly-la-Forêt. 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 Académie Française and The Royal Academy of Belgium.

During his life, Cocteau was commander of the Legion of Honor, Member of the Mallarmé Academy, German Academy (Berlin), American Academy, Mark Twain (U.S.A) Academy, Honorary President of the Cannes Film Festival, Honorary President of the France-Hungary Association and President of the Jazz Academy and of the Academy of the Disc.

Filmography

Works

Literature

Poetry

Novels

Theatre

Poetry and criticism

Journalistic poetry

Film

Director

Scriptwriter

Dialogue writer

Director of Photography

Artworks

Images for kids

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  Amedeo Modigliani, Jean Cocteau, 1916, Henry and Rose Pearlman Collection, on long-term loan to the Princeton University Art Museum

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  Érik Satie, Parade, thème de Jean Cocteau

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  Marie Laurencin, Portrait de Jean Cocteau, 1921

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  Tribute to René Clair: I Married a Witch, Jean Cocteau (1945), a set design for the Théâtre de la Mode.

See also

In Spanish: Jean Cocteau para niños