What would you do if you invited someone to spend a week at your holiday home and he decided to redecorate it and then he decided to stay – indefinitely? Francine Weisweiller was thrilled.
In 1950, when Francine met Jean Cocteau, she was a 34 year old Parisian socialite bored with her bourgeois lifestyle. Cocteau was a 61 year old artist and writer overseeing the making of a film based on one of his books, “Les Enfants Terribles”. They were introduced by Francine’s cousin, who was an actress in the film and a friendship immediately bloomed between them.
When the movie was finished, Francine invited Cocteau and his 25 year old companion/adopted son, Edouard Dermit, to spend a week at her holiday home on the French Riviera. It was in the village of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat which had once been known as Cap-Saint-Sospir after a sixth century monk who had lived in the area. Francine adopted the name and her villa became Villa Santo Sospir.
It Started With One Drawing
After just a few days of rest and relaxation at Santo Sospir, Cocteau was ready for another project. Since most of the walls in Francine’s newly acquired villa were bare and white, they reminded him of giant canvases and they called out to him to decorate them. He asked Francine if he could make a charcoal design over the fireplace, she immediately agreed and a drawing of Apollo, the sun god, appeared.
He Just Couldn’t Stop
Cocteau decided that Apollo needed to be flanked by two priests, one on each side. Then he took the advice of Matisse who said that if you decorate one wall of a room, you have to do the others. So he did all the walls in the living room. Then he did the doors. Of course the doors led into other rooms and the decorated doors made those walls look bare so he had to draw on them as well. And so it continued for six months all through the house.
The “Tattooed” Villa
To Cocteau the walls were like the skin of a person and he didn’t want to dress it but to “tattoo” it – and this villa got a full body tattoo. He worked his way around the house covering every wall with his art. He didn’t move the furniture, he simply drew around it or, in some cases, over it, making it part of the design. He did the entire house without sketches, drawing directly on the walls. First he drew his designs in charcoal. Then he used coloured pigments mixed with raw milk to make a tempera to highlight his lines.
The Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat coastline reminded Cocteau of Greece and most of the designs in the villa are inspired by Greek mythology with a little nod to local culture and the sea. For example, The Apollo over the fireplace has eyes designed as fish and the priests on each side are represented by Villefranche fishermen, wearing traditional hats and carrying their nets. You’ll also see representations of sea creatures and fougasse (a local bread) scattered along the walls.
Cocteau left only one wall “tattooless”. The dining room wall is covered by a tapestry representing the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes. And it was designed by, who else but, Jean Cocteau. He had it made as a gift for Francine. His one week holiday had turned into a six month decorating frenzy. But even when all the walls were covered with his tattoos, Cocteau still didn’t leave. He found more decorating to do. He designed two mosaics at the entry of the house and decided that the tattooed walls made the ceilings look bare so then he had to do all the ceilings. He came for seven days and stayed almost eleven years.
One Big Happy Family
It was an unconventional household, but they formed a seemingly happy family unit consisting of: Cocteau, the genius in residence, in his sixties; Francine, his adoring friend and patron in her thirties; Edouard, Cocteau’s companion and adopted son in his twenties; and Carol, the young daughter of Francine, who was seven when Cocteau arrived. Carol lived in Paris with her father where she was raised mostly by nannies but she counted the holiday time spent at Santo Sospir as her real family time. She adored Cocteau and looked at him as a friend and second father. At Santo Sospir, this little blended family painted, read and entertained other famous artists and actors, that is, when they weren’t travelling around on Francine’s yacht.
Cocteau’s one week stay ended 11 years later when he and Francine had differing opinions about her new boyfriend. Fortunately for Francine, she liked Cocteau and his art (because she ended up living with both for quite a long time). So let this be a lesson if you are thinking of inviting an artist for a visit. Be sure to check their portfolio first!
How to visit
The villa is now owned by Carol Weisweiller and classed as a historic monument. Tours are by reservation only. See the website for prices and contact information: http://www.villasantosospir.fr/
The villa is now owned by Carol Weisweiller and classed as a historic monument. Tours are by reservation only. See the website for prices and contact information: http://www.villasantosospir.fr/
Other Cocteau sites in the area
The Chapel St. Pierre in Villefranche-sur-mer is the tiny but beautiful chapel of the fishermen of Villefranche. Cocteau decorated the inside and the outside. See this site for visit information.
In Menton you will find several Cocteau sites, including the Marriage Hall (salle de marriage), the new Cocteau museum and an older smaller Cocteau museum, the Bastion. See the Menton tourism site for information.
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I would appreciate your last offer more if there were less allusions to status….money.
The last sentence is disrespectful of: hospitality, and certainly of art(ists). Cocteau
not only came from an elite family himself but the value of the works in this villa is galexies
above the value of the villa itself.
Hi Charlotte and thank you for writing in with your comment.
I do appreciate it but I’m afraid there was a bit of a misunderstanding somewhere. When writing this article, I was not at all thinking about status or money (if you knew me, you would know that would be the last thing I would be thinking about) so I had to reread the article to see what you were talking about. The only two things that I saw were the reference to Carol having nannies and to the group travelling around on the yacht. Both of these were used to show that the group considered themselves, and functioned as, a family unit. As for Cocteau’s financial standing, I didn’t mention it because it didn’t enter my mind and had nothing to do with what I was writing about.
As for the last sentence, it was an attempt at humour (perhaps a failed attempt) but I do try to find humour in life and not take it too seriously. And I do find it humorous that someone came for a week and ended up staying for years and decorating the house. But I in NO WAY meant any disrespect to art, artists, or hospitality – I think all three are wonderful. So, I’m sorry if it seemed disrespectful to you, it really was not intended to be.
Best regards ~Margo
I loved this Margo (actually I love all your posts – so well researched and beautifully written) but I particularly enjoyed this as you re-created for me my most enjoyable visit to this wonderful place on a beautiful sunny February day. I was fascinated with it and your story brought this back for me. Delightful. Many thanks, Paula.
Thank you Paula. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It really is a special place. It takes a bit of effort to get to but is well worth it. I could just imagine the place when Cocteau was in his creative fury – it must have been amazing.
When I read this I was again at the house, on the tour Mary Jane and I so enjoyed. It is such an interesting story and so beautifully told by you.
Thanks Jay. I’m glad you and Mary Jane got to go. I had been wanting to go for quite some time and when you were in town, it seems like the perfect opportunity. 🙂
Loved this and hope to be able to visit the villa sometime. And I do know you and money would be the furthest from your mind when doing these articles.. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as always.
Thanks Margaret. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 The villa is definitely worth a visit, as are the other Cocteau sites in the area. Hope you are having a great summer!