Untitled 

Editor: So, we have an intriguing, unnamed piece here, "Untitled," by Jean Cocteau. It appears to be a painting, maybe tempera or gouache. It features this bizarre image with vibrant colour blocking of yellow and blue and figures of a pale woman with red draping interacting with an unicorn whose horn has been elongated unnaturally to support and seemingly lift one end of a thick red curtain! There is a tension of allegory. How should we approach deciphering it? What's your take on this unusual piece? Curator: Well, my dear friend, stepping into Cocteau's world is like falling into a beautiful dream, isn't it? Or perhaps, more accurately, a very chic nightmare. Immediately, I’m struck by the blatant artifice, this very stagey composition, that is more evocative than representative of an internal psychological stage play. A unicorn acting as literal support? And this theatrical curtain! How playful is that? Don't you feel the surrealism oozing from its colour selection? The colour is stark and almost naive with these block choices? This isn't simply Surrealism. It feels like a more mannerist theatrical. Do you perceive it? It feels self-aware, and intentionally melodramatic. Editor: I definitely agree with the feeling of being theatrical! You mentioned its “internal psychological stage play”, does the painting reflect any historical themes and what those could be about, especially given Cocteau’s biography and body of work? Curator: That's a splendid question. Given the artist's leanings, his known artistic network and preoccupations and the era it was painted, wouldn’t you agree we could look to delve into a myriad of potential interpretations, like an alchemical manuscript to be dissected for symbolist meanings? The unicorn could be innocence. The naked figure might evoke vulnerability, and maybe an androgynous allegory of purity, who unveils this bizarre landscape, or perhaps a representation of artistic expression itself as something powerful and simultaneously fragile? Editor: Those are all very compelling directions to investigate further. Thank you, it’s certainly given me a lot to consider. Curator: The pleasure was mine, honestly! What a wondrous thing to ponder. It leaves me with this unsettling feeling, something like excitement, don’t you feel the tingle?