DP MJCCSW 4.10_EN - copie - Maison de la France

I. GENESIS OF THE PROJECT: A SERIES OF ENCOUNTERS
Thanks to an exceptional gift by Severin Wunderman of works by Jean Cocteau, followed three
years later by the laying of the foundation stone for the building to house this collection, the
musée Jean Cocteau collection Séverin Wunderman in Menton, a large-­‐scale cultural project
which has received the full support of officials in this Côte d’Azur town, will open its doors to
the public on Sunday, 6 November 2011.
The future museum will thus become the leading and largest publicly accessible resource
devoted to Cocteau’s oeuvre anywhere in the world.
Jean Cocteau and Menton
In the summer of 1955, while a house
guest of his friend Francine Weisweiller at
Saint-­‐Jean-­‐Cap-­‐Ferrat, Cocteau visited
Menton for the first time, was struck by
the town’s beauty and would often return
there in later years.
In 1956, at the request of Menton’s
mayor, the artist accepted a commission
to redecorate the town hall’s wedding
room with frescoes and other furnishings,
a project he completed in 1958. In
recognition, the town adopted Cocteau as
an honorary citizen.
Musée du Bastion, Menton
© Ville de Menton
Jean Cocteau
Painted decoration for the Menton town hall wedding room:
Lovers of Menton
1957–1958
© ADAGP, Paris 2011. Courtesy of Mr Pierre Bergé, chairman of
the Comité Jean Cocteau.
© Serge Caussé, photographer
One day while strolling in Menton, Cocteau came upon
the Bastion, a small, abandoned fort dating from the
seventeenth century, built over water as an advance
defence for the port. He set his heart upon restoring
this little jewel in order to exhibit his own artworks.
The Musée Jean Cocteau opened its doors at the Bastion
in 1966, three years after the death of the famed poet,
choreographer, film-­‐maker and artist. Decorated by
Cocteau himself with mosaics and tapestries, this
building is still home to a portion of the poet and
artist’s paintings dating from his “Mediterranean”
period (1950–1963).
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