Cocteau’s Creativity

Cocteau draws the sea

Well, mama and papa went off with friends to see Jean Cocteau’s house at Santo Sospir, which is a magical place very well-preserved and watched over by the man who took care of one of Cocteau’s patrons, Francine Weisweiller, whose daughter then wrote a lovely book about Cocteau called, in translation,  I Called Him Monsieur Cocteau.  She was eight when she met him through her mother and continued to see him the rest of his life as he became a permanent fixture in Francine’s house.  Along with a third incredibly handsome man whose life as a gardener changed when Cocteau saw him for the first time and brought him to live with them as part of a ménage a trois (whatever that is), put him in Cocteau’s films, and then presided over the young man’s eventual marriage.

Mama said the house was absolutely magical and the drawings so charming–Cocteau decorated every room in Francine’s house with his wonderful art. Each bedroom had a theme, and the fruits of his imagination are seen in stairwells, bathrooms, everywhere, by a man of many talents.

The entry to the enchanting house.

Francine’s bedroom

The furniture was inspirational, too.

Francine’s bathroom, done in rose ceramics.

The ceiling of a stairwell down to the bedrooms.

Over the fireplace, Apollo with fish for eyes.  Mama loved that.

I’ll have to write more on this later because mama is calling me to eat my dinner and I’m not missing that!