107. Paul de la Boulaye (Bourg-en-Bresse 1849-1926 Moulins) Oriental Portrait of a Woman in Profile signed and dated 'P. La Boulaye 1891' (top right) original oil on canvas, painted in an oval signed and dated 'P. La Boulaye 1891' (upper right) oil on canvas, unlined, paint within an oval 81.5 x 61.8cm (32 1/16 x 24 5/16in). Provenance Private collection, Belgium A pupil of Léon Bonnat, La Boulaye's prolific output included portraiture, genre scenes, religious and historical subjects. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1873, initially presenting religious works before focusing on regional subjects of Bresse and Bourbonnais, as well as Orientalist themes. He received an award at the 1889 Universal Exhibition. La Boulaye travelled extensively in North Africa and the Middle East, producing works that combine careful observation with a romanticized European vision of Eastern life. Works like The Shepherd Mother (1884) and The Baptism of the Orphan(1884) are in the collection of the Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum in Moulins, France. The present portrait depicts a seated lady in exotic costume, rendered with rich colour and careful attention to fabrics, ornamentation and jewels characteristic of the Orientalist tradition.