Footnotes

Provenance
Philipp & Minna Neuberger Collection, Bamberg (acquired directly from the artist).
Mathilde Neuberger Collection, Germany & UK (a gift from the above in 1939).
Eva Schapira Collection, Newcastle upon Tyne (by descent from the above in 1991).
Private collection, London (by descent from the above).


In Tiergartenstraße, Lesser Ury demonstrates his supreme command of pastel, transforming the medium into an evocative impression of light and atmosphere. This is a quintessential example of the artist's most praised rainy cityscapes, a scene viscerally charged with the cool mist of a wet Berlin night. Ury conjures the glimmer of lamp light on the soaked pavement with a spectrum of gold, white, mauve and teal, while the geometric lines of the footpath and railings recede seamlessly into a whisper of haze. The scene's protagonists, a well-to-do couple awaiting their carriage, anchor the composition. The man takes a careful step – looking down at his cane, perhaps poised to flag down his driver – while his female companion, demure beneath a glistening black umbrella, catches the viewer's eye. The soft material of the man's top hat, reflecting the lamplight, merges with the deep black of the woman's umbrella, providing a moment of sheltered intimacy against the thrumming beat of nocturnal city life. To the right, the blurred motion of a horse-drawn carriage introduces a sense of transience into this fleeting vignette of upper-class city life before the perilous descent into war.

The present work was acquired directly from Ury by his friends, Philipp and Minna Neuberger of Bamberg. Tragically, the persecution of the Nazi regime caused the forced sale of Philipp's business in 1938. The pair gifted their most important possessions – including the present work – to their daughter Mathilde (known as Tilde) shortly before their lamentable fate. Tilde safeguarded it closely as she fled to safety in the United Kingdom. Recently, the city of Bamberg named a street in memory of Minna Neuberger, cementing the family's legacy within the community. Today, this cherished work represents a direct and poignant link to the vibrant cultural world of pre-war Germany. As a masterful depiction of Berlin's golden age by one of its most beloved interpreters, as well as a treasure preserved through immense adversity, Tiergartenstraße is a statement of the enduring power of art and legacy.