Maker/Artist
Cocteau, Jean
French poet, painter, and filmmaker, 1889-1963
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.
