Lot 100 Dα

Lesser Ury was no less able to uncover atmospheric aspects in the Berlin cityscape than he was capable of strikingly presenting the landscape of the countryside around Berlin. With the passage of time his famous, snapshot-like images of urban traffic increasingly shifted from the horsepower of coaches to that of automobiles. Here, as is evidently also the case in a pastel from the 1920s, the view of the elevated rail station at Schöneberg's Nollendorfplatz is shown as seen from Bülowstraße. Architectural backdrops are quite rare in Ury's work. In this picture, the scenery is set off against the cast iron-and-glass construction of the station's dome which, like the cars driving on the street below, stands for the hectic tempo of Berlin. The reflections on the rain-covered asphalt and the reflecting headlights simultaneously offer a bright foil for the slim, elegant silhouettes of the ladies rushing past. The bold red and green of their coats intensify a tonality that generally remains monochrome, set the lead-grey tones of blue resonating in nuanced facets and invest the urban scene with a subtle vitality.