Alfred Lörcher is rightly called the doyen among German sculptors of the first half of the 20th century. Steadily, still active into old age, Lörcher continued to develop, observing the changes in art with interest, without losing sight of his own path. Especially in relief, Lörcher has found a new plastic language of forms.
The inspiration for the terracotta relief "Rider at a Gallop" were the figure reliefs of Romanesque bronze doors, but also the ornamental divisions of Art Nouveau. Lörcher's figures no longer move on the relief ground, as in medieval sculpture, but actively incorporate it as a counterform to the raised relief. The figures open up to the surrounding space and the viewer. The individual figures subordinate themselves to the aesthetic order of the overall configuration. Calmness and direction result in an exciting overall picture. Gaps and open spaces dynamize the composition to an overall movement.