Jean Cocteau | MoMA

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Wikipedia entry
Introduction
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (UK: KOK-toh, US: kok-TOH, French: [ʒɑ̃ mɔʁis øʒɛn klemɑ̃ kɔkto]; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost artists of the surrealist, avant-garde, and Dadaist movements and an influential figure in early 20th century art. The National Observer suggested that, "of the artistic generation whose daring gave birth to Twentieth Century Art, Cocteau came closest to being a Renaissance man.". 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. He was described as "one of [the] avant-garde's most successful and influential filmmakers" by AllMovie. Cocteau, according to Annette Insdorf, "left behind a body of work unequalled for its variety of artistic expression." 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".
Wikidata
Q83158
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Getty record
Introduction
Cocteau considered himself a poet above all but worked in virtually every medium, including the theater and film. Some of his most important works include the poem L’Ange Heurtebise (1925); the play Orphée (1926); and the novels Les Enfants terribles (1929) and La Machine infernale (1934). His films included Le Sang d’un poète (1930) and La Belle et la bête (1946). His early life was spent in the thrall of the theater, but around 1916 he began associating with avant-garde painters and composers. His collaboration on the ballet Parade (1917) with Picasso, Satie, and Massine evolved from his personal association with both Serge Diaghilev and Picasso, whom Cocteau greatly admired.
Nationality
French
Gender
Male
Roles
Artist, Author, Film Director, Director, Actor, Cinematographer, Ceramicist, Writer, Designer, Lithographer, Muralist, Librettist, Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Illustrator, Painter, Pastelist, Pastellist, Photographer
Names
Jean Cocteau, Clément Eugène Jean Maurice Cocteau, Zhan Kokto, ז׳אן קוקטו, Eugène Jean Maurice Cocteau
Ulan
500003025
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Information from Getty’s Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License

Works

14 works online

Exhibitions

View all 12 exhibitions

Publications

  • Lincoln Kirstein's Modern Samantha Friedman and Jodi Hauptman, 2019 Exhibition catalogue, Hardcover, 208 pages
  • An Auteurist History of Film Charles Silver, 2016 Paperback, 256 pages
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