Paul Bornet. Portrait of an Actor or Dancer in Oriental Costume, 1917.

SOLD Portrait of an Actor or Dancer in Oriental Costume, 1917
Artist: Paul Bornet (Ranchot, 1878 – Paris, 1949)

Medium: Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right.
Dimensions: 61 × 50 cm (unframed).
Frame: Carved wooden frame, early 20th century.
Condition: In original condition, unrestored. Needs cleaning.

Male figure in oriental costume, wearing a headpiece adorned with a central plume and eyes accentuated with elongated makeup lines. The vivid colors and exotic atmosphere evoke a stylised, theatrical aesthetic typical of the early 20th century.
The work reflects the cultural climate of Paris in 1917, deeply influenced by the Ballets Russes, whose visual language and stage presence left a lasting mark on the art, fashion, and imagination of the time.

Provenance: Collection of Henri Cain (1857–1930).

Biography of Paul Bornet (1878–1949)

Paul Bornet was a French painter and engraver based in Paris. He worked for the Banque de France, engraving banknotes for countries including Syria and Greece.

After World War I, in which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre, he taught at the Institut d’esthétique contemporaine. Among his students were Jean Lébédeff, Gabriel Zendel, and Grace Albee.

He collaborated with Éditions Gallimard, including for the series Les peintres français nouveaux. He exhibited at the Salon des artistes français (1897–1905), the Société nationale des beaux-arts (1919), the Salon d’automne, the Salon des indépendants, and in cities such as Geneva, Marseille, and in Spain.

In 1925, he was a member of the jury at the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs, where he received a gold medal and an honorary diploma. He died in Paris on August 14, 1949.