From the estate of Edouard Dermit, last companion and heir of Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), no less than 282 works by the hand of the latter or artists close to him have just joined the collections of the Center Pompidou. They constitute Jean Cocteau's workshop fund and will, for some, be presented for the first time during the reopening of Cocteau's house in Milly-la-Forêt (Essonne) scheduled for June 1, 2019 after its complete renovation.

Presenting the major elements of this exceptional corpus, the catalog includes 150 drawings and highlights the genesis of the linear and modern style of Cocteau in the 1920s and its role as creator of forms.

The ensembles presented include first sketches of youth, portrait-loads, illustrations of magazines and novels, sketches related to the worlds of spectacles, many self-portraits, portraits of his relatives like André Salmon, Coco Chanel, Paul Eluard, Christian Bérard or even Colette . They are reciprocally complemented with portraits of Cocteau drawn or painted by Marie Laurencin, Modigliani, Picasso, Man Ray, Irving Penn, Lipchitz, Buffet ...

The catalog published on this occasion by the Center Pompidou, in connection with Cocteau's house in Milly-la-Forêt, offers an exceptional dive into the personal drawings of Jean Cocteau. Two essays accompany the 150 reproductions and retrace the history of this workshop fund and the genesis of the Cocteau style.

Exhibition: Milly-la-Forêt: Cocteau House will reopen to the public on June 1st, 2019