Jul 30, 2020 - Sale 2543

Sale 2543 - Lot 213

Unsold
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
"IN MENTON . . . I AM PAINTING AN ENORMOUS MURAL" COCTEAU, JEAN. Autograph Letter Signed, "Jean Cocteau / [asterisk]," to "My dear Cerès," in French, declining to make an appointment, advising him to follow his "inner self," explaining that he is busy painting a mural but that they could talk if they happen to meet in Villefranche. Final sentences and signature written vertically in right margin and upside-down in upper margin. 1 page, 8vo, "Santo-Sospir" stationery; remnants of hinging at upper and lower edges verso, folds. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 15 September 1957

Additional Details

"I dare not give you an appointment and above all I never give advice. We can only seek advice from the inner 'self'. That self which afflicts us with all the misfortunes of youth--pay attention to it. . . . I live with one foot in Le Cap and one foot in Menton, where I am painting an enormous mural. . . ."
In 1957, Cocteau painted floor-to-ceiling murals on the walls of the marriage registry office in Menton, France.