The Difficulty of Being pdf

He was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the most prominent designers of the surrealist, pioneering and Dadaist movements. And one of the most influential figures in the art of the early twentieth century as a whole. The National Observatory suggested that "from the artistic generation whose boldness gave birth to twentieth-century art, Cocteau came close to being a Renaissance man."

The Difficulty of Being pdf by Jean Cocteau

Reflections on life and art from the legendary filmmaker-novelist-poet-genius. By the time he published The Difficulty of Being in 1947, Jean Cocteau had produced some of the most respected films and literature of the twentieth century, and had worked with the foremost artists of his time, including Proust, Gide, Picasso and Stravinsky. This memoir tells the inside account of those achievements and of his glittering social circle. Cocteau writes about his childhood, about his development as an artist, and the peculiarity of the artist’s life, about his dreams, friendships, pain, and laughter. He probes his motivations and explains his philosophies, giving intimate details in soaring prose. And sprinkled throughout are anecdotes about the elite and historic people he associated with. Beyond illuminating a truly remarkable life, The Difficulty of Being is an inspiring homage to the belief that art matters.