Alfred de Dreux

(Paris 1810–1860)
“Le Lad Blanc et ses Chevaux” verso titled on an exhibition label, signed Alfred de Dreux, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 72.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
Malborough Fine Art Ltd., London;
Private Collection, Austria.

Exhibited:
Malborough Fine Art Ltd., Old Bond Street, London, June - July 1965, cat. no. 14 (verso exhibition label).

In the present painting "Le Lad Blanc et ses Chevaux - The Stable Boy and His Horses", Alfred de Dreux depicts a quiet moment. He captures the relationship between man and horse, as in most of his famous equine paintings. The French painter was one of the best-known artists of the Paris Salon, a world-famous, regularly-held exhibition and the centre of the French art market in the 19th century. De Dreux was influenced by artists in his family from an early age, and later taught by Léon Cogniet. The young painter was particularly inspired by Théodore Géricault, who was a close family friend. He focused primarily on the depiction of horses after his training, often alongside commissioned portraits. He also regularly painted dogs – usually they accompanied the main subject, horses, but his oeuvre also contains dog-only portraits. He returned to Paris in 1852 following an extended stay in London, and worked for Emperor Napoleon III, of whom he produced magnificent equestrian portraits. In contrast, the present work shows a quiet moment; the simply dressed groom appears to be resting briefly with the two horses while dark clouds gather in the sky.