Alfred de Dreux was born in France in 1810 and was greatly influenced by the work of Géricault, who was a family friend. His best work was painted in the Orientalist style and featured beautiful Arab horses, often with their grooms.
He first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1830 and his work was an immediate success; so much so that his art soon became much in demand. In 1840, he began perhaps his most famous series of paintings, a set of portraits of the great horses from the celebrated stables of the duc d’Orléans.
After the French Revolution of 1848, Napoleon III and the French royal family emigrated to England, where de Dreux visited them many times, painting several equestrian portraits of the Emperor and his sons.
Despite his connections with the aristocracy and royal family, de Dreux’s work remained popular in France and is represented today in the Louvre and in many of France’s greatest museums.
Alfred de Dreux was killed in a mysterious duel, fought with Comte Fleury, the Emperor’s aide de camp, in 1860.
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