Lesser Ury
Lady in a café, Berlin
Artist
Lesser Ury
Provenance
Galerie Arnold, Dresden, verso on the frame with the gallery label;
Private collection, France;
Grisebach, Berlin 29.11.2019, lot 405;
Private collection, Berlin.
Private collection, France;
Grisebach, Berlin 29.11.2019, lot 405;
Private collection, Berlin.
Share
Description
- Intimate coffee house scene, paired with a typical Berlin street scene in the rain in the background
- At the same time, the artist created an etching showing variations on the same motif
- Ury transports the viewer directly into the urban hustle and bustle of a metropolis
In her expert opinion, Dr. Sibylle Groß points out that the painting "Dame im Café, Berlin" was probably created at the same time as an etching from 1919, which shows the same scene mirror-inverted and with variations.
In his realization of the pictorial idea, the etcher Ury almost ignores the surroundings and focuses his attention exclusively on the lady sitting at the window, her head slightly lowered towards the straw, concentrating on her drink in the glass. The painter, on the other hand, opens up the scenery in the painting to the outside world, bringing her depiction to life. Ury locates the depicted moment and transports the viewer directly into the urban hustle and bustle of a metropolis. The heavy curtain, half-pulled to one side, allows a view through a window, behind which a row of towering, multi-storey houses can be seen on the right, slightly clouded by the hazy, damp weather. Cabs seem to be approaching the viewer rapidly. The impression of speed contrasts with the contemplative posture of the lady, who seems oblivious to her surroundings.
The subject of the lady sitting alone at a table in a café is not unique, but can be found several times in Ury's works. The moment depicted is difficult to interpret. Is the lady expecting someone or is her visit to the café for the sole purpose of leisure and enjoyment? It is this open narrative style that characterizes Ury's coffee house pictures. The viewer becomes a spectator and interpreter of the captured moment.
With a photographic expertise and documentation by Dr. Sibylle Groß, Berlin, dated 25.10.2019; the painting will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné of Lesser Ury's work.
- At the same time, the artist created an etching showing variations on the same motif
- Ury transports the viewer directly into the urban hustle and bustle of a metropolis
In her expert opinion, Dr. Sibylle Groß points out that the painting "Dame im Café, Berlin" was probably created at the same time as an etching from 1919, which shows the same scene mirror-inverted and with variations.
In his realization of the pictorial idea, the etcher Ury almost ignores the surroundings and focuses his attention exclusively on the lady sitting at the window, her head slightly lowered towards the straw, concentrating on her drink in the glass. The painter, on the other hand, opens up the scenery in the painting to the outside world, bringing her depiction to life. Ury locates the depicted moment and transports the viewer directly into the urban hustle and bustle of a metropolis. The heavy curtain, half-pulled to one side, allows a view through a window, behind which a row of towering, multi-storey houses can be seen on the right, slightly clouded by the hazy, damp weather. Cabs seem to be approaching the viewer rapidly. The impression of speed contrasts with the contemplative posture of the lady, who seems oblivious to her surroundings.
The subject of the lady sitting alone at a table in a café is not unique, but can be found several times in Ury's works. The moment depicted is difficult to interpret. Is the lady expecting someone or is her visit to the café for the sole purpose of leisure and enjoyment? It is this open narrative style that characterizes Ury's coffee house pictures. The viewer becomes a spectator and interpreter of the captured moment.
With a photographic expertise and documentation by Dr. Sibylle Groß, Berlin, dated 25.10.2019; the painting will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné of Lesser Ury's work.