Arab Horsemen in Combat

This 1849 Arab Horsemen in Combat at the Smith College Museum of Art depicts the violent cavalry encounters that were a staple of French Orientalist painting following Delacroix's Moroccan journey of 1832. Chassériau's engagement with the equestrian battle subject demonstrates his sustained dialogue with Delacroix's example, even as he maintained the linear precision of his Ingres training that differentiated his approach from the elder painter's more purely coloristic handling. The 1849 date places this work in the period of maximum production from his Algerian memories, three years after the 1846 visit. Smith College's holding documents American women's college museum acquisition of French Romantic painting.

The combat scene is rendered with dynamic energy and warm color, Chassériau's fluid brushwork capturing the violence of the cavalry encounter while his drawing skill gives each figure convincing physical presence.