Christian Adolf Schreyer (German, 1828 to 1899)
Noted Orientalist and genre painter Adolf Schreyer (also referred to as Christian Adolf Schreyer) was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1828. After early education at the Institut Staedel in Frankfurt, he studied at the Academy in Dusseldorf, then settled in Vienna in 1849. During the Crimean War (1853-1856) Schreyer followed the Austrian Army through the Wallachian frontier as a sketch artist.(1) Schreyer went on to study in Paris and North Africa. In 1859 he traveled extensively in Egypt and Syria, learning Arabic and immersing himself in the culture, and in 1861 he visited Algiers. From 1862 to 1870, Schreyer lived in Paris. He returned to Frankfurt in 1871. He was a member of the Academies in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. His works were awarded medals in Paris in 1864, 1865 and 1867, and in Munich in 1876. Schreyer died in Kronberg in 1899.
Schreyer painted the landscape and culture of foreign lands, from Russia to North Africa. His travels brought him inspiration and also gave his work authenticity. He is regarded as a great painter of horses in all their aspects.(2) His works, well-conceived compositions, brilliantly colored and vigorously painted, were very popular in his time, and were found in major European and American private collections. Schreyer’s paintings are found today in major museums in Europe and the United States, including museums in Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Paris, Boston, and San Francisco.
(1) E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Librairie Grund, 1976., Vol. IX, page 439-440.
(2) http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/SAR_SCY/SCHREYER_ADOLF_1828_1899_.html. Originally appearing in Volume V24, page 378 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Information courtesy of Skinner Inc., January 2010.