1861 -1931 · Berlin, urban impressionism and Berlin Secession

Rain, street lamps and windows make Lesser Ury the incomparable painter of modern, nocturnal and moving Berlin.

Leo Lesser Ury was born in 1861 in Birnbaum, in the Prussian province of Posen. After the death of his father, his family moved to Berlin. He studied in Düsseldorf, Brussels and Paris, traveled to Flanders and Munich, then returned permanently to the German capital in 1887. The city became his great subject. Fiacres, trams, cafes, train stations and passers-by appear in the rain or at dusk, when the asphalt transforms each lamp into a reflection. Ury paints in oil but also excels at pastel, the material of which allows him to capture fog, halo and luminous vibration. Supported by Adolph Menzel, he received the Michael Beer Prize in 1890. His difficult relationship with Max Liebermann delayed his recognition within the Berlin Secession, which nevertheless ended up welcoming him and devoting a major exhibition to him in 1922. Nocturnal street scene, Berlin or Nollendorfplatz station at night show a modernity close to impressionism without losing a very personal. Next to the metropolis, Ury painted landscapes, cafes, self-portraits and biblical subjects. He died in Berlin in 1931, recognized as the great visual poet of the capital. Next to the metropolis, Ury painted landscapes, cafes, self-portraits and biblical subjects. He died in Berlin in 1931, recognized as the great visual poet of the capital. The "Lesser Ury" selection notably compares Night Street Scene, Berlin and Nollendorfplatz Station at night. His reading favors the atmosphere.

Ury paints less rain than what it reveals: the city becomes a network of lights, passages and solitudes.