Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)
Writer, poet, artist, film-maker, Jean Cocteau lived in a dream and pulled you in. His film La belle et la bête (1946) is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen put to screen. I have been inspired by the surrealism in his work, his imagination, resourcefulness and how he tightrope-walks between art and life.
One has to be on his wavelength to appreciate his style on all its levels. I’m looking forward to getting to grips with his Orpheus trilogy. Captivating.
There’s a first-rate good biography of Cocteau in Francis Steegmuller’s book: ‘Cocteau’ (Constable & Co., 1986).
Scene from Cocteau’s La belle et la bête (1946)
Jean Cocteau ‘live’ painting
