16 Works, July 9th. is Adolf Schreyer's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #186

Adolf schreyer

An Arab horsemen in a mountainous landscape

Oil on canvas

23 1/2 x 31 1/2in (60 x 80cm)

Private collection

Adolf Schreyer (July 9, 1828 Frankfurt-am-Main – July 29, 1899 Kronberg im Taunus) was a German painter, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.

Adolf schreyer

Charge of the artillery of the Imperial Guard at Traktir in Crimea, August 16, 1855, c. 1865

Oil on canvas

H. 202.0; L. 429.0 cm.

Musée d'Orsay,

A joint invasion force, over 60,000 strong, comprising British, French and Turkish elements landed in Calamita Bay, south of Eupatoria, on the 14th September 1854; on the 19th the three armies marched south along the coast in the direction of Sebastopol, 30 miles away. In their path were a number of small streams, flowing from the interior of the Crimea westwards to the coast. The Russian General Prince Menschikoff had prepared his defences. He had boasted that his troops would be able to hold their positions for at least three weeks, and the ladies of Sebastopol travelled to the Alma to enjoy both a picnic and the spectacle of the repulse of the invaders. More on  the Crimean War

Adolf Schreyer (German, Frankfurt 1828–1899 Kronberg)

An Ottoman encampment, c. 1855

Oil on canvas

Height: 79.5 cm; Width: 107 cm

Private collection

He studied art first at the Städel Institute in his native town, and then at Stuttgart and Munich. He painted many of his favourite subjects in his travels in the East. He first accompanied Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince of Thurn and Taxis through Hungary, Wallachia, Russia and Turkey; then, in 1854, he followed the Austrian army across the Wallachian frontier. In 1856 he went to Egypt and Syria, and in 1861 to Algiers. In 1862 he settled in Paris, but returned to Germany in 1870; and settled at Cronberg near Frankfurt, where he died.

Adolf Schreyer (German, Frankfurt 1828–1899 Kronberg)

Abandoned: Marshes of the Danube, c. before 1887

Watercolor and white gouache over graphite

11 3/4 x 22 1/2 in. (29.8 x 57.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Christian Adolph Schreyer

Fire truck with a burning city in the background , c. 1860

Oil on canvas

69 x 138 cm

Private collection

The present work of art shows one Fire squad on a cart drawn by four horses. It was created in 1860, at a time when the first voluntary fire brigades were founded. So it's not just a

excellent artistic work, rather also a valuable historical document, which shows the beginnings of fire fighting. We suspect that Schreyer portrayed people whom he knew, possibly

Artist friends from the Kronberg circle. It is not just a very early work, but here Schreyers is already revealed Preference for dramatic scenes, including burning buildings, stables, etc. It is also a characteristic example of Schreyer's virtuosity in the representation of horses."  More on this painting

Schreyer was, and is still, especially esteemed as a painter of horses, of peasant life in Wallachia and Moldavia, and of battle incidents. His work is remarkable for its excellent equine draughtsmanship, and for the artist's power of observation and forceful statement; and has found particular favour among French and American collectors. 

Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828-1899)

Arab Warriors on Horseback

 oil on panel

4.75″ x 6.75

The Knohl Collection

Arab Warriors on Horseback is characteristic of Schreyer’’s mature Orientalist work. Though there is no indication as to the identity of these Arab figures, or where the scene is set, history provides a possible clue — the magnificent detail of the costumes on each of the Arab riders suggest that they are spahis, or local Algerian men. In 1871, compelled by religion and nationalist sentiment, 100,000 Algerian tribesmen had waged war on the occupying French forces. As Schreyer’’s determined riders pause and gaze over their Empire, they appear to be heading to the fight. Perhaps Schreyer is speaking  to the Arabs he once traveled among – maybe, despite his French connection, even encouraging their political success. More on this painting

Adolf Schreyer (German, Frankfurt 1828–1899 Kronberg)

Arabs on the March

Oil on canvas

22 5/8 x 37 3/4 in. (57.5 x 95.9 cm)

I have no further description, at this time

Adolf Schreyer (German, Frankfurt 1828–1899 Kronberg)

Arabs on the March

Oil on canvas

22 5/8 x 37 3/4 in. (57.5 x 95.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Adolf Schreyer (German, Frankfurt 1828–1899 Kronberg)

Battle Scene: Arabs Making a Detour

Oil on canvas

59 3/8 x 99 1/2 in. (150.8 x 252.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In Paris Schreyer exhibited Arab scenes that were admiringly compared to those of Delacroix and Fromentin. He did not date his paintings and often repeated motifs. A reversed image of the horseman in this work appears as the central figure of Arab Warrior (Milwaukee Art Center) (See below).

Christian Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828–1899)

Arab Warrior, ca. 1880s

Oil on canvas

31 × 25 in. (78.74 × 63.5 cm)

 Milwaukee Art Museum

The subject of this classic work is ideally suited to Adolf Schreyer’s great skill as a painter of horses. He deftly used rapid, painterly brushwork to emphasize the sense of dynamism and vigor in the image. Schreyer, along with Delacroix, became one of the primary painters of highly romanticized, Orientalist subjects when he moved to Paris in 1862. The artist drew on his years of travel: he had received early training in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, in Germany; had been employed as an official artist during the Crimean War (1854–56); and then had traveled to North Africa, before settling in Paris. More on this painting

Adolf Schreyer (after)

A Kabyle, c. 1881 

Oil on canvas

56 x 46 cm. (22 x 18.1 in.)

Private collection

The Kabyle people are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, one hundred miles east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking population of Algeria and the second largest in North Africa.

Many of the Kabyles have emigrated from Algeria, influenced by factors such as the Algerian Civil War, cultural repression by the central Algerian government, and overall industrial decline. Their diaspora has resulted in Kabyle people living in numerous countries. Large populations of Kabyle people settled in France and, to a lesser extent, Canada (mainly Québec) and United States. More on the Kabyle

Of his battle-pictures there are two at the Schwerin Gallery, and others in the collection of Count Mensdorff-Pouilly and in the Raven Gallery, Berlin. His painting of a Charge of Artillery of Imperial Guard (See above) was formerly at the Luxembourg Museum. The Metropolitan Museum, New York owns three of Schreyer's oriental paintings: Abandoned (See above), Arabs on the March (See above) and Arabs making a detour (See above); and many of his best pictures are in the Rockefeller family, Vanderbilt family, John Jacob Astor, William Backhouse Astor, Sr., August Belmont, and William Walters collections. 

Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828-1899)

Wallachian horsemen in a winter landscape

Oil on canvas

23¼ x 44¼ in. (59 x 112 cm.)

Private collection

Wallachia had been a battleground for over a century, as both the Austrians and Russians attempted to take the province from the Ottomans during a series of wars. The boyar aristocracy were now, however, always impressed with their new rules and their absolutist ways: they had often enjoyed more latitude under the Ottomans. 

 Christian Adolph Schreyer

Walachian Horseman at a Post Station

Oil on canvas

83.5 x 131 cm. 

Private collection

Christian Adolph Schreyer

The Wallachian Team

Oil on canvas

19¾ by 33 in.

Private collection

Christian Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828–1899)

The Wallachian Post-Carrier, before 1891

Oil on canvas

48 × 79 × 1 1/2 in. (121.92 × 200.66 × 3.81 cm)

 Milwaukee Art Museum

The real subject of this painting is the dramatic power of the six horses that pull the postman’s wagon. Some pull forward, some rear back, creating a tension that is emphasized by the active brushwork with thick impasto paint.

Wallachia, referred to in the title, today is southern Romania. After studying in art schools in Germany and Paris, Christian Adolf Schreyer made a career out of depicting the exotic lands he encountered while traveling throughout eastern Europe and northern Africa. More on this painting

Christian Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828–1899)

Fleeing Wallachian Horses

Oil on canvas 

40 1/8 by 67 1/2 in

Private collection

At the Kunsthalle Hamburg is his Wallachian Transport Train, and at the Staedel Institute, Frankfort, are two of his Wallachian scenes. More on Adolf Schreyer

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