Jean Cocteau

Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. Such an impressive collection of roles granted to him a wide influence in the avant-garde, surrealist, and Dadaist movements, becoming a pivotal figure in early 20th-century art. Known for his novels Le Grand Écart (1923), Le Livre blanc (1928), and Les Enfants Terribles (1929); his stage plays; and particularly his films. His filmography includes The Blood of a Poet (1930), Les Parents Terribles (1948), Beauty and the Beast (1946), Orpheus (1950), and Testament of Orpheus (1960). Despite creating across different mediums, Cocteau maintained he was foremost a poet, attributing the scale of his works as differing expressions of 'poésie'. His early life was spent in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, to a prominent Parisian family. His father, a lawyer and amateur painter, committed suicide when Cocteau was nine. This distressing experience had a profound impact on the young Cocteau, shaping his approach to art and life.