Christian Adolf Schreyer was a German painter best known for his dynamic depictions of horses, battle scenes, and rural life in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

He studied first at the Städel Institute in his native Frankfurt, and later in Stuttgart and Munich. Early in his career, Schreyer accompanied Prince Thurn and Taxis through Hungary, Wallachia, Russia, and Turkey. In 1854, he followed the Austrian army across the Wallachian frontier, experiences that would strongly influence his artistic subject matter. He later traveled to Egypt and Syria in 1856, and to Algiers in 1861.

In 1862, Schreyer settled in Paris, where his work gained considerable recognition among French and American collectors. He returned to Germany in 1870 and settled in Kronberg, near Frankfurt, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Schreyer was especially admired for his exceptional equine draftsmanship, energetic compositions, and keen powers of observation. His paintings of horses, peasant life in Wallachia and Moldavia, and military subjects are noted for their movement, atmosphere, and forceful realism.

His work is represented in several important collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Kunsthalle Hamburg.