The Retreat
Christian Adolf Schreyer
Description
Schreyer was renowned for his dynamic and atmospheric paintings of horses and battles. He began his studies as a military and landscape painter at the Städel Institute in Frankfurt. Further studies took him to Stuttgart, Munich and Düsseldorf. During the early 1860s, Schreyer traveled through North Africa, Egypt and Syria, where he found many motifs for his later painting.
In 1862 Schreyer moved to Paris, where he established himself. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Schreyer returned to Germany, where he continued to work until his death.
Subject Matter:
Renowned for his dynamic compositions of horses and nomadic Arab warriors in desert landscapes, Schreyer’s rapid sketch-like brushstrokes emphasize the forward momentum of the riders. Schreyer traveled to Syria, Egypt, and Algeria in the early 1860s, where he sought to immerse himself in Arab culture. His works reflect his impressions of the people and landscapes he encountered through his travels in North African and the Middle East, as much as the powerful stereotypes and romanticized ideals of a "savage," "exotic," or "primitive" Arab "other" that was perpetuated in nineteenth-century Orientalist representations of North Africa, the Middle East, and Islamic culture.
Physical Description:
Depicts a group of Arab warriors on horseback in full gallop charging away from the viewer through the desert landscape.
Usage Rights:
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