Cavalier du Maroc, Circa 2020

Antoine De La Boulaye  

Antoine de La Boulaye's career began with his training at the Ecole Supérieure d'Arts Graphiques and the Académie Julian in Paris. He then became artistic director of advertising and publishing agencies until 1980, before devoting himself exclusively to painting. He quickly established himself as a talented painter of horses and regularly exhibited 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 Institut français in Seville. Many major French galleries devoted exhibitions to him, notably at the FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair) in Paris. 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 the French President commissioned two paintings from him. The painter then spent several days at Windsor Castle in contact with Prince Philip, whom he spent long periods of time drawing on his famous carriages. The two paintings were given as a gift to Her Majesty the Queen during the President's visit to the United Kingdom, and are still kept in the royal collections.

A versatile painter, Antoine de La Boulaye's style is constantly evolving, in his search for the translation of singular atmospheres, from the world of horses to that of Spain and the Orient, which have fascinated him since his youngest age. After having represented hunting, racing and carriage scenes, all deeply rooted 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. He also approaches other techniques such as sculpture.

Her research has recently led her to create images with vivid and colorful scenes representing real or imaginary horsemen. These results are obtained by following a meticulous process consisting of first painting her subject in a very accomplished way before deconstructing it, rubbing it and erasing it and then superimposing it with other images. The result is a heightened feeling of reality in motion, even of emotion when representing bullfights.