Lot 200 Dα

This beautiful work, titled 'Berlin Street in the Sunshine', was most probably painted in the 1920s. For choosing his motifs, Ury liked to go to prominent public spaces, where he could observe the lively goings-on of the splendid, modern imperial capital. Here he has depicted a chaussee in the Tiergarten district, bathed in the loveliest summer light. The street is enlivened by elegant passers-by, cabs, and a yellow street car. Both the observer's central vantage point and the rhythmic placement of the trees in long rows cause the eye to move deep into the picture. But above all, the vigorous, richly rendered play of light on the street and the general dissolution of forms into dabs of paint testify to Ury's exceptional colouristic talent. Through his painting technique, the artist was able to create a positive, vibrating atmosphere. The magic of light and shadow drew Ury to this almost Impressionist way of observing and painting.
A further work, in pastels, shows a similar street scene on a rainy day ('Berlin Street with a Cab in the Rain', circa 1925, exhib. cat. Lesser Ury, Licht, Farbe, Perspektive, Galerie Schwarzer, Düsseldorf 2005, p.18 f., with illus.) The comparison clearly shows that Ury was interested in investigating the different moods created by light, as for example the play of artificial light on a street wet with rain. In this plein air scene, the artist has achieved an impressing, almost lyrical portrait of Berlin in the 1920s. Like the French Impressionists, he was less concerned with creating a realistic representation than with cultivating a painting technique with regard to colour. Colour, so rich with nuances, was continually subject to atmospheric fluctuations and so was invariably dependent on the artist's interpretation of a particular fleeting and transitory moment.