'La Sainte Vierge'. Manuscript of an unrecorded poem, written in Jean Cocteau's hand.
Ca. 1925. Manuscript, unpublished poem by the French author and artist Jean Cocteau, written in his hand. Cocteau, raised as a Catholic, had fallen away from the faith, but in 1925 came back to the Church, taking the sacraments for the first time during the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
The symbol of the sacred or red heart was very important to Cocteau during his re-conversion, and appears in this poem ("son coeur rouge et or"). Cocteau had an opium addiction at the time, and tried to effect a cure at a French convalescent home in Villefranche-sur-Mer, where he wrote about the existence of God. He was often seen in the town in an ecstatic trance before a statue of the Virgin.
Cocteau's poem concludes with a charming image of the Virgin Mary and the gift of her red and gold heart to little girls: "La Sainte Vierge se penche elle donne- a chaque petite fille son coeur rouge et or- livre de Prix"
With the original sales receipt from ABAA dealer Emily Driscoll Autographs and Manuscripts, New York, NY. Dated 1957, identifying the poem as item 132 from Catalog #16. The receipt prices the poem at $10, an appropriate price at the time.
Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, visual artist, and film director, considered one of the most creative, diversified artists of the twentieth century.
The poem written in ink on watermarked tissue paper, not folded, evenly toned, perfectly legible. 8 x 10 1/2". The dealer sales receipt with slight loss at top edge, slightly marked, 8 1/2 x 7". Poem not recorded in OCLC. Very good condition. Item #20767
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