Nächtliche Straßenszene, Berlin 1920

Lesser Ury conjured this nocturnal street scene in Berlin with dark oils, capturing a moody ambiance. I imagine Ury standing there, feeling the damp chill, quickly daubing at the canvas, trying to catch the way the streetlights reflect on the slick pavement. The scene shimmers with wetness, with thick strokes of white and gray capturing the diffused glow of the city at night. I sympathize with Ury, trying to evoke the feeling of isolation and anonymity that comes with wandering the city streets after dark. The lone figure with an umbrella seems to shrink into the shadows, a black silhouette against the muted glow. Ury was part of a community of artists, like the Impressionists, all figuring out how to paint modern life with a new kind of sensory response. The way the light dissolves the forms reminds me of Whistler’s nocturnes. Artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other's ideas across time. They try to figure out new ways of seeing and feeling, leaving us with images full of possibility and open-endedness.