Jean Cocteau
A poet who painted with film and words, Cocteau wove dreams and nightmares into the fabric of modern art.
1889–1963 (age 74)·French writer and film director·Birthday: July 5·The Lost Generation
Biography
Jean Cocteau moved through the 20th century as a restless, elegant magician, transforming every medium he touched. Emerging in the bohemian swirl of pre-war Paris, he was a poet first, but his true canvas was the entire cultural landscape. He wrote novels that blurred reality, staged ballets that scandalized, and directed films like 'The Blood of a Poet' and 'Beauty and the Beast' that became cornerstones of cinematic fantasy. His work, while never formally joining any movement, acted as a vital conduit between the avant-garde circles of his friends—Picasso, Stravinsky, and the Surrealists—and the wider public. Cocteau's signature was a line, whether in his prolific, fluid drawings or in the narrative threads of his stories, that sought to reveal the marvelous hidden within the ordinary. He served as a tireless impresario of the modern spirit, championing new voices while crafting a deeply personal mythology that continues to enchant.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Jean was born in 1889, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jean Was Born
The biggest hits of 1889
Jean's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1889Born
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1902Became a teenager
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could drive
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Could vote
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 21
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 30
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 40
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1939Turned 50
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 60
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1959Turned 70
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1963Died at 74
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
Key Achievements
- Directed and wrote the landmark surrealist film 'The Blood of a Poet' (1930), a cornerstone of avant-garde cinema.
- Authored the novel 'Les Enfants Terribles' (1929), a dark study of sibling obsession that became a modern classic.
- Created the libretto for Igor Stravinsky's opera-oratorio 'Oedipus Rex' (1927), a major collaborative work of the era.
- Elected to the Académie Française in 1955, a rare honor for an artist so associated with the avant-garde.
Did You Know?
He designed many of the stamps and medals for the French Mint in the 1950s and 60s.
Cocteau was openly bisexual and had significant relationships with several actors and artists, including Jean Marais.
He painted the frescoes in the Chapel of Saint-Pierre in Villefranche-sur-Mer, a small fishing village in the South of France.
Cocteau provided the voice of the narrator in his own 1946 film, 'Beauty and the Beast'.
“The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.”
