The Retreat

It is clear from his handling of color and the energy of his compositions, that Schreyer was especially inspired by the leading Romantic colorist of the time, Eugène Delacroix and the French painter and writer Eugène Fromentin. Like Fromentin, Schreyer was devoted primarily to representing Arab horsemen whom he depicted with a grandeur that evoked a noble way of life fast disappearing. Even before turning to Oriental subjects, Schreyer had focused much of his energies on the painting of horses. His firsthand experience of cavalry manouvres whilst serving in the Crimean War with the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Austrian Army in 1854 prepared him well for the dynamic canvases he painted following his trips to North Africa.