Signed Alfred De Dreux (French, 1810 - 1860), Ottoman warrior, oil on canvas, 30 1/2" x 25", in original parcel gilt frame 39 1/4" x 34 1/4". Private Collection Lisbon, Portugal. Rare and unpublished discovery of mounted Ottoman warrior combines a profoundly Romantic vision with Alfred De Dreux's extraordinary talents as the leading equestrian artist of his generation. These are distilled into a highly charged and evocative image, which bears all the artist's hallmarks of movement, energy and color, but draws for further emotional effect upon a multitude of artistic, literary and historical influences. De Dreux was thus an extraordinarily versatile artist, who absorbed a multitude of influences and adapted them to a variety of genres. His horses are characterized by their shimmering coats, rendered in short, fine brushstrokes, which adds a sense of nervous energy and movement to the anatomical accuracy which defines their modelling. The overall impression is conveyed is a unique mixture of power and chic, rendered with a sense of bravura elan. This is one of De Dreux's most exciting compositions. This is one of several Orientalist pictures executed by the artist, this work is unusual in that rather than depicting the Nubian horsemen which typically characterize his paintings in this genre, the influence is primarily Ottoman. The painting harkens back thematically to Romantic works by Eugene Delacroix inspired by the Greek War of Independence and Byronic subjects such as the Giaour and Hassan.