Quite thrilled with my latest art acquisition back from the framer—two 1923 prints by Jean Cocteau. These were gifted to his friend and patron Georges Prade, an interwar French art-world figure who served as a critic and editor of the Blue Review (along with being Director of Mumm Champagne, a banker, and Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Paris).
This collection of drawings, titled simply “Dessins,” was inscribed by Cocteau with the following note to Prade: (my translation…)
“A friendly souvenir of an age of vacations and miracles.”
(orig. << À Georges Prade, ce souvenir amical d’un âge où il y avait des vacances et des miracles. Jean Cocteau >>).
The collection of drawings was dedicated by Cocteau to his and Prade’s mutual friend, Picasso, with the dedication: (again my translation…)
“Poets don’t draw. They untangle words and reassemble them in a new form. This is why I have allowed myself to dedicate to you a few fragments drawn on blotting papers, tablecloths, and the backs of envelopes. Without your guidance, I would have never dared reassemble them here.”
(orig. << Les poètes ne dessinent pas. Ils dénouent l’écriture et la renouent ensuite autrement. C’est pourquoi je me permets de to dédier quelques jambages faits sur des buvards, des nappes et des dos d’enveloppes. Sans ton conseil je n’eusse jamais osé les réunir. >>)