Frau und Droschke 1899

Lesser Ury painted 'Woman and Carriage' with oils, depicting a nocturnal Berlin street scene. The blurry gaslights and the transient encounter with the Droschke speaks to Berlin's rapidly changing urban environment in the late 19th century. At this time Berlin was rapidly industrializing and growing, becoming a center of trade and commerce. For artists like Ury, these elements of modern life became the subject of their work. The image shows a woman of the rising middle class in a private taxi, the Droschke, a luxury limited to the wealthy at the time. Ury was himself of Jewish heritage, and was known for portraying the alienation and loneliness experienced by many in the rapidly growing metropolis. The history of art institutions at the time sheds light on the painting. Ury belonged to the Berlin Secession, a group of artists who broke away from the state-sponsored academy to produce art freely. To understand Ury's 'Woman and Carriage' better, one could consult historical accounts of Berlin, studies of the Berlin Secession, and Ury's biography.