Jean Cocteau Quotes

لا يوجد داء أخطر من الديكتاتورية، إنها تخرب المدن وتطمس العائلات وتبيد البيوت

El poeta es un mentiroso que siempre dice la verdad.

Paris, however — because of her purely fortuitous beauty, because of the old things which have become a part of her, because of her entanglement of buildings and tenements — Paris yields herself in discovery as an attic beloved in our childhood gave up its secrets.

How admirable the attitude of one who has made good use of the time granted him and who did not interfere by trying to be his own judge. Duration of human life belongs to those who mould each moment, sculpture it and do not trouble about the verdict.

Il y a dans le dessin une très grande jouissance. L'écriture, c'est le dessin noué autrement. (...) Et quand je dessine, j'écris, et, peut-être, que quand j'ecris, je dessine.

Les expériences dangereuses, le monde les accepte dans le domaine de l’art parce qu’il ne prend pas l’art au sérieux, mais il les condamne dans la vie.

Je sais que la poésie est indispensable, mais je ne sais pas à quoi.

[C]ourageous film-makers, who take no account of success, prove that cinematography is a medium for realism and lyricism, and that everything depends on the angle from which one observes the spectacle of life — the angle from which they constrain us to share a singular vision of things and emphasize the everyday miracle that lies within them.

I suppose the artists invented the firm breasts they put on women, and that in reality all women had flabby ones.

A half empty bottle of wine is also half full, but half a lie will never be half true

„Wer mein Haus betreten will, der trete ein. Wem es hier gefällt, der bleibe. Ich weigere mich, etwas zu planen. Und wenn man mich fragt, was ich aus meinem Haus mitnehmen würde, wenn es brennt, antworte ich: das Feuer.

Many years ago, as I was glancing through a catalogue of jokes for parties and weddings, I saw an item, 'An object difficult to pick up'. I haven't the slightest idea what that 'object' is or what it looks like, but I like knowing that it exists and I like thinking about it.
A work of art should also be 'an object difficult to pick up'. It must protect itself from vulgar pawing, which tarnishes and disfigures it. It should be made of such a shape that people don't know which way to hold it, which embarrasses and irritates the critics, incites them to be rude, but keeps it fresh. The less it's understood, the slower it opens its petals, the later it will fade. A work of art must make contact, be it even through a misunderstanding, but at the same time it must hide its riches, to reveal them little by little over a long period of time. A work that doesn't keep its secrets and surrenders itself too soon exposes itself to the risk of withering away, leaving only a dead stalk.

There is neither magic nor master's eye. Only a great deal of love and a great deal of work.

The spirit of creation is the spirit of contradiction, the breakthrough of appearances toward an unknown reality.

What is style? Saying complicated things in a simple way.