Oil on canvas
Berlin, around 1900-10
Lesser Ury (1861-1931) – German painter and graphic artist
One round label with the handwritten number in blue ‘333’ on the reverse
Dimensions: 76.2 x 51.5 cm
Very good condition
With a certificate of authenticity by Dr. Sibylle Groß, Berlin, dated April, 7 2014. The painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Auction 21 (Estate Lesser Ury) at Paul Cassirer, Berlin, October, 21 1932, Cat. no. 59; Dr. Reinhard Winterhoff, Berlin/Hamburg, acquired in 1932, family owned until 1995; Gallery Schwarzer, Düsseldorf; Private collection, Rhineland (since 1997); from the inventory of a former Berlin gallery
Lesser Ury is known and appreciated for his street scenes and coffee house images in impressionist style, the interior scene presented here shows one of the coffee houses on Berlin's boulevard Unter den Linden and is arguably one of his finest examples of a café scene; comparable subjects fetch up to €180,000 on the international auction market

The painter Lesser Ury is known for his impressionist Berlin street scenes, which he composed with preference in evening light or with rain, creating a particular mood. It was not only the streets of Berlin, but also the coffee houses that inspired Lesser Ury to numerous motives. Particularly noteworthy here are the places Hiller and Dressel on the boulevard Unter den Linden, which in the second half of the 19th century developed from a residential street to a strolling promenade. In the local fancy restaurants and cafes, the upper-class audience enjoyed their social life and the intimate atmosphere of the places that again reflected a kind of ideal lifestyle. The painting presented here depicts a lady in a blue dress sitting in a coffee house that resembles the interior of the restaurant Hiller. The furnishing corresponds as well as elsewhere to the French style. The late baroque mirrors on the wall are reflecting what is happening in the background and even allow a peek out the window. The lady who is seen here in profile appears somewhat mysterious. The previous owner of our painting, Dr. Reinhard Winterhoff, who acquired it at the estate auction at Paul Cassirer in 1932, thought it could be Lesser Urys mistress Metha Streiter, however a precise identification cannot be made due to a lack of comparable images of her.



The painting is overall in very good condition. At the bottom left light craquelure, otherwise excellent. The image measures 76.2 x 51.5 cm, the framed dimensions are 95.5 x 70 cm.



Lesser Ury (1861-1931).

Lesser Ury was born in 1861 in Birnbaum near Posen. After his father's death the family moved to Berlin in 1973. After his secondary school certificate Ury initially started a business training, but he dropped out after a year to go to the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. In 1882 he studied at the Académie Royale in Brussels, in 1883 under Jules Joseph Lefebvre in Paris. Until 1986 he continued his studies at the academies in Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Munich. 1889/1890 Fritz Gurlitt showed the first exhibition of the artist, but it was no success. Lesser Ury traveled a lot in the following years. In 1914 he began at the suggestion of colleagues to engage in printmaking. When Paul Cassirer exhibited Lesser Ury's work in 1916 both the public and the press were enthusiastic. 1921, he was made an honorary member of the Berlin Secession. Until his death in 1931, the artist created an extensive body of work comprising oil paintings, drawings and prints, which was close to Impressionism. (cru)

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