The work of this French artist, who specialised in female portraits, transmits to the viewer a feeling of authenticity, refinement and sensuousness achieved thanks to an extremely thorough study of the personality of the sitter.

After garnering a solid academic training at the École des beaux-arts in Bordeauxand later at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Boyé studied under Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (1845—1902), although his work does not show the same influence of the exoticism of Oriental art as his master’s.

In Boyé’s view, women are sensitive, elegant, and possessors of a serene and delicate beauty. His portraits extol female attributes, bestowing faces with a kind, sincere quality. The soft brushstroke emphasises the femininity of the figures, often depicted as nymphs in the midst of idyllic forests and gardens, awash with floral decoration and warm, bright colours.

Here we have an exceptional portrait of an elegant lady whose identity is unknown, speaking to us of the refined fin-de-siècle atmosphere of Paris in the changeover from the 19th to the 20th century, in the period immediately prior to the Great War.

The lady sports an elegant red dress with black details, and a belt, fur stole and gloves in the same colour, reflecting women’s fashion of the time. She looks directly at the beholder in a haughty pose and her lips are pursed in a suggestive and provocative smile which, when coupled with her demeanour, conveys the assertiveness and self-confidence of a great lady.