Jean Cocteau was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, and visual artist. He is widely regarded as one of the leading figures of the surrealist, avant-garde, and dadaist movements in early 20th-century art. Known for his innovative work in a variety of artistic disciplines, The National Observer described Cocteau as an artist who "came closest to being a Renaissance man" of his generation.
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was born on 5 July 1889 in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines. He grew up in a prominent Parisian family. His father, a lawyer and amateur painter, tragically took his own life when Cocteau was just nine years old.
Jean Maurice attended the Lycée Condorcet in Paris but left home at fifteen. At nineteen, he published his first book of poems, Aladdin's Lamp. By the time he was twenty-two, he had gained a reputation in Parisian artistic circles as "The Frivolous Prince", a title of one of his early works.
He was associated with prominent artists and writers of the time, such as Marcel Proust, André Gide, and Maurice Barrès. His collaboration with the Ballets Russes led to the creation of Le Dieu bleu in 1912, with dancers Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky.
During World War I, Cocteau served as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, during which time he met influential figures such as Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso. These connections spurred his work on Parade (1917), a ballet produced by Sergei Diaghilev with sets by Picasso and music by Erik Satie.
One of Cocteau's most notable literary achievements was his novel Les Enfants Terribles (1929), written during his struggle with opium addiction. The book, which tells the story of a brother and sister living in a world of their own making, remains a defining work of his career. In the theatre, La Voix Humaine (1930), a one-act monologue, and Les Parents Terribles (1938), a dark family drama, were both critically acclaimed.
His adaptation of the Oedipus myth, La Machine Infernale (1934), is often regarded as his most significant theatrical work.
Cocteau's influence on cinema began with his first film, The Blood of a Poet (1930), which showcased his surrealist style and imaginative use of visual metaphor. His film Beauty and the Beast (1946) is a landmark in film adaptation, praised for its innovative visual effects and poetic storytelling—the Orphic Trilogy, including Orpheus (1950) and Testament of Orpheus (1960).
Jean Cocteau died on 11 October 1963 at 74 at his château in Milly-la-Forêt, Essonne, France. According to his wishes, Cocteau was buried under the floor of the Chapelle Saint-Blaise des Simples in Milly-la-Forêt. The epitaph on his tombstone reads: "I remain with you" ("Je reste avec vous"). His death came just one day after the passing of his close friend, the French singer Édith Piaf.
