Cocteau, Jean

views updated

Cocteau, Jean (1889–1963) French writer and film-maker, an experimental leader of the French avant-garde. He was associated with many leading artistic figures of the 1920s, such as Apollinaire, Picasso, Diaghilev, and Stravinsky. His many successful works of surrealist fantasy include the novel Les enfants terribles (1929; filmed 1950); the plays Orphée (1926; filmed 1950) and La Machine Infernale (1934); and the films Le sang d'un poète (1930) and La belle et la bête (1946).

More From encyclopedia.com