59 - Lesser Ury

Lesser Ury Dame im Schnee Circa 1919 Pastel on artist's board. 51.5 x 36.7/37.2 cm. Framed under glass. Signed 'L. Ury' in white lower left. Verso with a detail of a study for the portrait of Bronislaw Hubermann, pencil and charcoal. - Minimal rubbing to lower margin, otherwise in fine condition with fresh colours. Photo-certificate and expert report from Sibylle Groß, Berlin, from 25 November 2022; the pastel will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Lesser Ury. Provenance Gaston Lefeuvre, Berlin / Paris; Family property, Paris, until 1965; Math. Lempertz’sche Kunstversteigerung 482, Köln, 21 May 1965, lot 871; Private collection, Rhineland; Lempertz Köln, Auction 1211, 2 Dec. 2022, lot 62; Private collection, Baden-Württemberg Exhibitions Probably: Berlin 1922 (42. Ausstellung der Berliner Secession), Lesser Ury, cat. no. 140 The painter Lesser Ury primarily worked in Berlin and became known, above all, for his nocturnal street scenes featuring anonymous passers-by. The pastel “Dame im Schnee” is quite special in this context: Ury has depicted a solitary young woman, provided her with an individual appearance, and presented her in the form of a large figure that nearly fills the image. Dressed in a high-necked black coat and wool hat, the young woman looks at us with a friendly smile. In the manner of a close-up photograph, Ury has pushed her directly up against the lower edge of the picture and placed her before a diffusely depicted background which shows – in this case, characteristically for Ury’s work – the vista of a Berlin street with a horse-drawn carriage and people hurrying along. From the beginning of his career Ury was fascinated by the visual phenomena of Berlin at night: the pedestrians and carriages on streets wet with rain, the various modern light sources like gas lanterns and electric signs, and – not least – the different atmospheres deriving from the weather, such as rain, fog and snow. He has accordingly covered the entire scene here with smaller and larger snowflakes, which form a charming contrast against the black coat.