Le Roi Soleil

Sometimes you need to escape to the South of France, become a house guest for 12 years, and explore spirituality. Just ask Jean Cocteau.

J. Gasiglia, Jean Cocteau. Photograph: © Éditions du Rocher. This was taken from inside the chapel at Villefranche-sur-mer.

Legend has it that in the 16th century, in what was then a region of the world regularly caught in a back-and-forth between France and Italy, a man passing through stated that a certain city within this territory was so-called because it was ‘ni ici, ni là’ (neither here, nor there). 

This, of course, was Nice, a city whose name seems to have been chosen for the multilingual puns it can deliver. But ultimately, what this visitor may not have realized in describing the then-ubiquitous changes in border is that he would be summarizing one of the defining qualities of the region. 

The south of France – specifically, the Côte d’Azur – is a place synonymous with pleasure; where (mainly) foreigners, since the early 19th century, built a playground on the shores of the Mediterranean, in the shadow of the Alps, and under a perpetually shining sun. To go to the Côte d’Azur is to announce to others your intentions of indulging your desire to commit the sins of greed (by visiting one of the beachside Casinos), lust (everyone is 100% more seductive here, scientifically speaking), and sloth (what else are you going to do on a sunbed? Work?). 

In the 1920s, Jean Cocteau and his cohort, which included Coco Chanel and Serge Diaghilev, began to take the then-new overnight train between Paris and the Côte d’Azur with regularity. The area experienced a boom in tourism in the decade after WWI; the allure of the beach, casinos, and salted, clean air were more than enough to tempt Parisians away from their cultural Mecca and into this more relaxed region of France. Le Train Bleu, so nicknamed both for the color of its sleeper cars and the water where its passengers descended, was an iconic figure in its own right, and became the inspiration for a ballet of the same name conceived by Cocteau for the Ballets Russes. It was first performed in 1924, with costumes by Chanel reflecting the sporty, easy flapper aesthetic that she made synonymous with Riviera style. 

While Jean Cocteau was certainly the ultimate Parisian, he has an undoubtedly important legacy in the south of France. The region is a treasure trove for Cocteau enthusiasts; he left scattered along the Mediterranean shores a number of murals, frescoes, mosaics, and yes, legends. But much of this work came in the twilight of his life, when his career was experiencing yet another transition.