Jean Cocteau, a complete artist, has tried his hand at literature, dramaturgy, poetry, cinema, painting, drawing, lithography, ceramics and even tapestry. The Jean Cocteau Museum in Menton pays tribute to the work and life of one of the greatest French artists of the 20th century.
Musée Cocteau à Menton-CChillio
Jean Cocteau Museum
The Bastion
When he came to Menton in 1957 to decorate the wedding hall, the man nicknamed the Prince of Poets fell under the spell of an abandoned fort dating from the seventeenth century. The mayor of the time then made a proposal to the artist: that this place that attracted him so much became a museum to house his works. Jean Cocteau accepted and actively participated in the setting up of a museum which became a true artistic testament. Based on an original collection of 102 works, the Jean Cocteau Museum opened its doors in Menton in 1966, three years after the death of the artist who devoted his last years to it. In 2005, the merger with the Wunderman donation considerably enriched the collections, which now include more than 2,000 works.
Jean Cocteau Museum – Wunderman Collection
Opened in 2011, the Jean Cocteau Museum, Séverin Wunderman Collection, offers on 2,700 m² of exhibition space all the diversity of the artist’s work, from the 1910’s to the 1950’s. The exhibition areas are alongside spaces dedicated to temporary exhibitions, a graphic art workshop, an educational workshop, a bookstore, a café and a resource documentation center. This space is temporarily closed and should reopen soon.
Wedding Hall
The visit to the museums is just one step in the footsteps of the works of Jean Cocteau in Menton. The wedding hall welcomes Le couple mentonnais (The Menton couple), a fresco located behind the mayor’s office. Red curtains bring a theatrical dimension to the scene. The artist’s work gave rise to a distinct period, known as the “style de Menton” (Menton style): colored chalk gives rise to abstract motifs that become intertwined with the figures, with a subtle reminder of the ancient Greek art that gave rise to the tragedies that Jean Cocteau loved.
Exhibitions
Regularly, the museum revisits a period, an artistic movement, a work. In 2019, La Belle et la Bête, regards fantastiques (Beauty and the Beast, Fantastic Eyes) shed light on a cinematographic monument through the eyes of several contemporary artists. In 2018, the exhibition Les amoureux de Jean Cocteau (Jean Cocteau’s Lovers) focused on the artist’s treatment of the themes of the couple and love.
Practical information
Prepare your visit to the Jean Cocteau Museum:
- Opening days: open every day except Tuesday. Closed on January 1, May 1, November 1 and December 25.
- Schedule: from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Address: Quai Napoléon III – Bastion du Vieux Port, 06500 Menton
- Website: https://www.museecocteaumenton.fr/
