Chevaux, Circa 2023

Antoine De La Boulaye  

Antoine de La Boulaye's (1951) career began with his training at the Ecole Supérieure d'Arts Graphiques Penninghen in Paris. He became artistic director of advertising and publishing agencies until 1980, then devoted himself exclusively to painting. He quickly established himself as a talented painter of horses and exhibited regularly at the Galerie La Cymaise in Paris. Prestigious institutions opened their doors to him, from the Grandes Écuries de Chantilly to the museums of Nantes and Béziers, including the French Institute in Seville. Major French galleries devoted exhibitions to him, including the Baudoin Lebon gallery at the FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair) in 1993. Antoine de La Boulaye's reputation crossed borders, and he was the subject of solo exhibitions in Switzerland, Belgium, the United States and the United Kingdom.

His official recognition came in 1984, when President Mitterand commissioned two paintings from him. The painter stayed for several days at Windsor Castle in contact with Prince Philip, whom he drew on his famous carriages. The paintings were offered to Queen Elizabeth II during the President's visit to the United Kingdom, and are still kept in the royal collections in the private apartments.

A versatile painter, Antoine de La Boulaye is constantly evolving, following the same objective: to translate the atmosphere of the equestrian world of Spain and the Orient, which has fascinated him since his youngest age. After having represented hunting, racing and carriage scenes, all anchored in the classical tradition that he masters so well, he turns towards different pictorial languages, exploring for a time contemporary abstraction and collages, where his sense of color and drawing still manifest his obsession with the horse. According to the critic Hervé Legros, the painter's research is oriented towards more enigmatic images, as if it were a question for La Boulaye of always unlearning more of what could fix him in a manner. He also approaches other techniques such as sculpture.

His research has recently led him to create images with lively and colorful scenes representing real or imaginary riders. These results are obtained by following a meticulous process consisting of first painting his subject in a very accomplished way before deconstructing and erasing it and then superimposing it with other images. Indeed, according to Pierre Giquel, by a movement that no rule seems to guide, the painter affirms his attachment to the surface to then erase, erase, and keep only what will be of the order of a quiver.

COLLECTIONS

The works of Antoine de La Boulaye are present in prestigious private and public collections, including:

Societe Generale Bank,
HRH Charles III,
Regional Fund for Contemporary Art of the Pays de la Loire, National Fund for Contemporary Art,
French Embassy in Mexico,
French Embassy in Madrid,
National Library, Print Room, Paris, La Roche sur Yon Museum,
The Paris Mint,
City of Niort.