Photo credits: Maison Jean Cocteau.
MILLY-LA-FORÊT, FRANCE — In a tranquil corner of Île-de-France, the Maison Jean Cocteau reopens its doors for the 2025 cultural season, offering a rare and intimate glimpse into the poetic universe of one of France’s most enigmatic and prolific artists. Nestled beneath the towers of the Château de la Bonde, this historic retreat—where Cocteau lived from 1947 until his death in 1963—is far more than a museum: it is a living canvas, a mirror into the inner world of a visionary.
Designated a Maison des Illustres, the Maison du Bailli—acquired by Cocteau just after filming La Belle et la Bête—stands as one of the few places where the artist’s creative spirit remains palpably present. “At Milly, I found the rarest thing in the world—a setting,” Cocteau once wrote. That setting is now lovingly preserved, its rooms adorned with his eclectic décor, personal objects, and spectral charm. Visitors are guided through this dreamlike space by mediators who unveil rarely seen works and stories often left untold.
Photo credits: Maison Jean Cocteau.
The 2025 season, running from May 3 to November 2, is anchored by a temporary exhibition dedicated to Cocteau’s 1959 painted decorations for the nearby Chapelle Saint-Blaise-des-Simples. Once a sanctuary for lepers, the chapel became a sacred canvas where Cocteau merged art and spirituality. The exhibition contextualizes his work in the chapel—medicinal plant motifs climbing the walls, a Resurrection scene rendered with delicate symbolism—highlighting it as a pivotal chapter in his visual oeuvre of the 1950s.
It is here, too, that Cocteau chose to be buried. His epitaph, “Je reste avec vous” (“I remain with you”), lingers like a benediction.
This year also sees the reopening of the second floor of the house, once reserved for Cocteau’s lifelong companion, Jean Marais. A chalk drawing embedded in a wall and an accompanying exhibit explore the profound connection between the two men—an enduring love expressed through theater, poetry, sculpture, cinema, and a shared artistic language.
Photo credits: Maison Jean Cocteau.
Spring and summer bring renewed vitality to the gardens that envelop the house. Apple trees and vibrant flowerbeds sketch out a setting for the Samedis musicaux chez Jean Cocteau, a concert series echoing the music salons so dear to Cocteau and his contemporaries. Beginning in late June and running through mid-September, Saturday evenings will resound with works by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, and members of Les Six, as well as the voices of jazz and chanson—modern sounds in homage to a modernist spirit.
A new addition this season brings contemporary art to the grounds: two monumental sculptures by Michel Charpentier, on loan from the FRAC Île-de-France collection, now grace the lawn in front of the house. Their presence evokes the region’s cathedral heritage while conversing, in form and gravitas, with Cocteau’s legacy.
Photo credits: Maison Jean Cocteau.
The Maison Jean Cocteau remains accessible to all, including visitors with reduced mobility, and welcomes those who may simply wish to wander its poetic gardens or browse a boutique that celebrates regional artisanship. A seasonal refreshment stand adds a touch of conviviality beneath the pear trees.
Owned by the Île-de-France region since 2019, the Maison has become a vital cultural hub in the south of the region. Each year introduces new ways to animate and share the memory of Jean Cocteau—poet, playwright, filmmaker, and eternal dreamer.
“To visit his house is to step through the mirror—out of our world and into his.”