The exhibition at Westwood was less familiar, with photographs that Jean Cocteau commissioned the then-25-year-old Clergue to make of the filming of Testament of Orpheus (1960), Cocteau’s quasi-autobiographical surrealist fantasy about a time-traveling poet. Some of the images take us behind the scenes - such as ones of Cocteau, checking a camera angle in Louis XV attire and relaxing on the set with Yul Brynner and Picasso, both of whom had cameo roles. There was also a hilarious shot of two hunky young men in spotted Speedos (part of their “dog-men” costumes) on lunch break.
Other images looked at first like stills from the movie (which played on a monitor in the gallery) but were not. One records the scene in which Cocteau walks alongside a white-plumed sphinx. The film was shot at eye level, but Clergue opted for a low angle, creating the illusion that both figures are airborne, with the sphinx extending a protective wing over Cocteau’s shoulder. No doubt Cocteau, never shy about an opportunity for self-apotheosis, loved it.
