Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (French, July 5, 1889–October 11, 1963) was among the best multi-talented artists of the 20th century. He was a novelist, poet, designer, dramatist, filmmaker, artist, and playwright. He started writing at the age of 10, and by age 16, he was already an established poet. Most of his works were influenced by psychoanalysis, Surrealism, the Catholic religion, Cubism, and sometimes opium. During his time, Cocteau was a well-known promoter of unconventional fashion and styles. He was connected to well-known artists as well, including the writer
Marcel Proust (French, 1871–1922),
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973), the composer Eric Satie (French 1866–1925), and the director
Serge Diaghilev (Russian, 1872–1929).
At the age of 19, Cocteau published
La Lampe d'Aladin, his premier compendium of poems. Although he embraced Catholicism at first, he shunned religion entirely in the end. During the First World War, specifically in 1923, he was an ambulance chauffeur on the Belgian facade, where the novel
Thomas l'imposteur originated. Some of his very significant works of art were created during the years when he had become addicted to opium. These include
Les Enfants terribles (1929) and
Orphée (1926). Many other artists believed his most important play is
La Machine Infernale (1934). In 1930, he produced his first film,
Le Sang d'un poète. In the 1940s, he reverted back to creating films, initially as a screenwriter and finally as a director. This allowed him to produce such acclaimed films as
Orphée (1949),
La Belle et la Bête (1945), and
Le Testament d'Orphée (1960).
Throughout his filmmaking career, Cocteau created around 12 films, each showing a rich element of surreal imagery and symbolism. When it comes to music, Cocteau had a close connection with a group of composers called Les Six. His other collaborations included ballet scenarios for Darius Milhaud (French, 1892–1974) and Erik Satie-
Le Boeuf sur le toit (1920), as well as librettos for Milhaud and Igor Stravinsky (Russian, 1882–1971). As an artist, he published several books with vivid illustrations, and worked as a designer.