Jean CocteauPartie de Rugby - A Game of Rugby. 1956.

Original drawing in coloured chalks with soft pencil. Signed Jean with the star and dated 1956 in multicolour crayon.

Drawn virtually to full sheet size. Sheet: c. 410 x 538 mm.

With the Certificate of Authenticity from Mme Guedras, the world-recognised expert on Cocteau’s oeuvre and the guardian of all the artist’s studio records.

Provenance: Collection Edouard Dermit. Dermit was the lead actor in Cocteau’s last film

‘Le Testament d’Orphee’. Cocteau adopted Demit as his son and the whole contents of his studio was inherited by Dermit on his death.

US. Private Collection F.M. – acquired from Dermit.

Cocteau had a life-long fascination with the movement of the human body. It inspired his work on ballet and became a major creative source for him, especially in the 1950’s and 60's.

This drawing is from a group of ‘sports drawings’ and also of gymnastics studies made at the winter Olympics at this period.