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Lot Essay
Adolf Shreyer painted Oriental scenes in a spirit much influenced by the French painters of the time; Delacroix, Decamps and Marilhat but particularly Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876). Like Fromentin, Shreyer was devoted primarily to Arab cavaliers which, as can be seen in the present example, he depicted with a grandeur which evoked a noble way of life fast disappearing. The dealer Beugniet had told Fromentin that pictures with horses were more saleable than those with camels, an observation which might explain Shreyer's preoccupation with the Arab cavaliers. Indeed Shreyer's paintings of Arab cavaliers were enourmously popular with the German aristocracy and American collectors such as Mr. William Vanderbilt, Mr William Rockefeller and Mrs. George Hearst, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
Adolf Shreyer had travelled through Hungary, La Valachie and middle Russia in 1848 and 1849 with Prince Thurn and Taxis and in 1855 followed the prince's regiment to the Crimea. It was in 1856 or 1859 that Shreyer travelled to Syria and Egypt and Algiers in 1861, where contact with the Bedouins provided inspiration for Shreyer's orientalist work.
Returning to Paris in 1862, Shreyer exhibited his work at the Paris Salon where he was appreciated by Gautier and where Paul Manz commenting on Shreyer's work at the Salon of 1865 stated: 'Here we have a painter from Frankfurt who has been naturalised' refering to Shreyer's depiction of the Arab as an unspoiled child of nature. The Franco-Prussian war in 1870 forced Shreyer to leave Paris at which point he became painter at the court of the Grand Duke of Mecklembourg. Shreyer continued to exhibit at the Paris Salon and other European cities and became a member of the academies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Many of his works are in American and German museums.
Adolf Shreyer had travelled through Hungary, La Valachie and middle Russia in 1848 and 1849 with Prince Thurn and Taxis and in 1855 followed the prince's regiment to the Crimea. It was in 1856 or 1859 that Shreyer travelled to Syria and Egypt and Algiers in 1861, where contact with the Bedouins provided inspiration for Shreyer's orientalist work.
Returning to Paris in 1862, Shreyer exhibited his work at the Paris Salon where he was appreciated by Gautier and where Paul Manz commenting on Shreyer's work at the Salon of 1865 stated: 'Here we have a painter from Frankfurt who has been naturalised' refering to Shreyer's depiction of the Arab as an unspoiled child of nature. The Franco-Prussian war in 1870 forced Shreyer to leave Paris at which point he became painter at the court of the Grand Duke of Mecklembourg. Shreyer continued to exhibit at the Paris Salon and other European cities and became a member of the academies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Many of his works are in American and German museums.