Lettre autographe signée à Monsieur Godebsky

Brief and enthusiastic, this autograph letter signed by Jean Cocteau is addressed to Cypa Godebsky, the half-brother of Misia Sert:

The project at stake here is Le Mot, a patriotic art and propaganda review founded by Cocteau and Paul Iribe in November 1914. Though declared unfit for military service, Cocteau remained active: enlisted as a Red Cross stretcher-bearer, he witnessed the bombardment of Reims and took part in the evacuation of the wounded. The experience left a deep mark. Back in Paris, he founded this graphically striking, combative and provocative review, built on an unabashed patriotism.

Le Mot ran to twenty issues between November 1914 and July 1915. To sustain the venture, Cocteau had to finance its continuation: he solicited patrons, among them Cypa Godebsky, whom he had met during the sanitary convoys at Reims, and whose salon was famous for gathering the leading artists and writers of the day — from Valéry to Gide, from Satie to Vuillard, from Fargue to Conrad.

The Godebskys, established on the rue d’Athènes and at La Grangette in Valvins, played an essential role in the artistic ecosystem of the period. Their generosity was not exercised at a distance: Ravel dedicated his Ma Mère l’Oye to the couple’s children, Jean and Mimi. In this context, Cocteau’s letter, dated 16 March 1915, marks a decisive moment: that of the search for support. “À dimanche” refers to the celebrated Godebsky evenings, where Cocteau hoped to win over one more ally to his “fine project of counter-offensive” — against the enemy, but also against indifference.

Unsurprisingly, the Godebskys responded favorably to Cocteau’s Le Mot, arranging to meet him the following Sunday. One more ally for the writer, who saw the review through to its conclusion, its last and twentieth issue appearing in July 1915.