The Juggler's Revenge

Jean Cocteau gets the last laugh in a landmark new exhibition at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy, which leans into qualities that once were seen as his weakest.

Less than a year ago, and nearly twenty years since my previous visit, I arrived in Venice. I had traveled alone, landing late at night. It was dark out, and my water taxi was being driven by a young man who I am fairly certain was still a teenager. He drove at such an excessively high speed that it caught air with each minor bump of a wave on the wine-dark water. Our only source of light came from a full moon in eclipse, which hung so low, it looked like we were going to drive straight into it. 

I was in the Floating City for my dearest friend’s wedding – a fabulous, multi-night affair, which was to be held in one of the many crumbling palazzos that dot the Grand Canal. But before I could dive into the festivities, I had a meeting to take at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni. 

Philippe Halsman Jean Cocteau, New York, USA. 1949 © Philippe Halsman / Magnum Photos

As of this writing, “Jean Cocteau: The Juggler’s Revenge” has just opened at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. Organized by the incredible Cocteau expert Kenneth E. Silver, it is the first major international exhibition of his works in over twenty years. It is also the largest loan from the Severin Wunderman Collection since its opening in Menton, France, in 2011. (The exhibit will be on view until September 16th, 2024). 

[Ed. note] If you cannot make it to Venice before the exhibition closes, I highly recommend pre-ordering/purchasing a copy of its associated catalog from the link here. Bookshop.org is like Amazon, except your purchase benefits small and independent bookshops instead of Jeff Bezos.