Stop of spahis at a source

This 1850 Stop of Spahis at a Source at the Louvre depicts North African cavalry—the Spahis were indigenous Algerian cavalry troops serving under French colonial command—stopping to water their horses at a spring. The subject combines the equestrian dynamism of Orientalist military painting with the quieter moment of rest and refreshment that allowed Chassériau to show both the horses' physical beauty and the riders' characteristic ease in the saddle. The Spahis, with their distinctive red and white uniforms, were among the most visually compelling elements of the French colonial army in Algeria and appeared frequently in the Orientalist painting that documented and glamorized the conquest.

The watering scene is rendered with warm North African light and vivid local color, Chassériau's fluid brushwork capturing the horses and riders with the dynamic energy characteristic of his Orientalist military subjects.