Exhibition

In 1958, Jean Cocteau agreed, at the request of the elected representatives of Milly-la-Forêt, to decorate the small chapel of Saint Blaise, located on the outskirts of the village. For this former leper chapel, Cocteau drew inspiration from the medicinal plants, known as Simples, grown in Milly: marshmallow, belladonna, valerian, buttercup, colchicum, henbane, gentian and mint. These large colourful stems, stretching from the floor to the roof along the walls, surround a scene depicting the Resurrection of Christ.

Paying homage to Milly's specialities, the artist repeated a monumental work, following on from those brilliantly executed in the south of France. The scene of the Resurrection of Christ is particularly striking, with its idea of souls ascending to heaven, while Cocteau suggests, through the epitaph engraved on the poet's tombstone, ‘I remain with you’, that this is not the case for his work. Stained glass windows with anthropomorphic geometric motifs, designed by Cocteau and created by a German master glassmaker, complete the ensemble.

The chapel will open its doors to the public in June, after a complete restoration of the paintings.

Curators: GIP Maison Jean Cocteau, Muriel Genthon and Céline Delamotte

Scenography: Frédéric Beauclair

On 18 April, the Maison Jean Cocteau in Milly-la-Forêt opens its doors to a new exhibition: Colette, an Elder Sister.

From the early 1900s until Colette's death in 1954, Jean Cocteau and Colette shared a friendship of singular artistic and intellectual complicity. Between the earth-bound woman and the tightrope walker, how could such an unlikely bond have ever taken root?

Colette, an Elder Sister is an invitation to discover its many layers. It begins with their first encounter at the Palais de Glace on the Champs-Élysées in 1903, when a teenage Cocteau came across Colette dressed in cycling clothes — a devotee of Belle Époque pleasures and Parisian haunts. Before he became her friend and accomplice, Cocteau was captivated by a young woman who shed social conventions and claimed her freedom, even at the risk of scandal. Then, in the 1930s, their closeness deepened. As Colette's literary reputation came into its own, their neighbouring apartments at the Palais-Royal in Paris drew them together — through frequent visits, walks in that garden "for grown-ups," and affectionate letters. Watching his elder's decline, Cocteau became, in Colette's final years, a tender and attentive presence, while she recognised in him the poet who dares everything.

A catalogue accompanies the exhibition, with contributions from two scholars, Nicole Ferrier-Caverivière and David Gullentops, offering deeper insight into what drew these two towering figures together — and what kept them fascinated by each other.

The exhibition brings together drawings, photographs, letters and quotations that trace this friendship across the years. At its heart: Cocteau's Portrait of Colette in Charcoal and Flour, on exceptional loan from the Musée national d'art moderne (Centre Pompidou), and an excerpt from Yannick Bellon's documentary in which the two companions talk, freely and warmly, about everything and nothing.

Exhibition on view from 18 April to 1 November. Open Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm. The exhibition is included in the visit to the Maison, led by a guide.

Booking recommended.