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Emmy Klinker was born in Eupen in 1891 and grew up in (Wuppertal-)Barmen in a wealthy and art-loving family. At the age of 16 she began her artistic training with the landscape painter Paul von Ravenstein in Karlsruhe. In 1911 she moved to Berlin and continued her painting studies with the famous German Impressionist Lovis Corinth. In February 1914 Klinker met Alexej von Jawlensky at the home of her father, who was a collector of contemporary art. The works of the 'Blue Rider' became her main inspiration. In 1916 she moved to Munich and became a student of Albert Bloch, the last remaining representative of the Blaue Reiter. In 1918 Klinker exhibited with Bloch at the Berlin gallery 'Sturm'. Other exhibitions followed, for example with the 'Novembergruppe' in Berlin or with the artists' group 'Junges Rheinland'. Klinker also exhibited several times at the Barmer Kunstverein. She is generally referred to as a 'second generation Expressionist'.

Wuppertal, probably painted in 1928, shows a view of the town through three tall black trees. The atmosphere is rather dark, the grey sky at the top of the picture almost dramatic.

It is a constructed condensation of Barmen's most important buildings in one painting, not a representation based on reality. Chimneys, industrial and residential buildings, and characteristic buildings characterise the view of Barmen: at the bottom right is the former suspension railway station 'Rathausbrücke' (now 'Alter Markt'), from which a suspension railway appears to be departing. Between the trees you can see a gas boiler, which is probably the new building of the Visiodrom. The twin-towered church on the right could be St Johann Baptist or the main church of Unterbarm; below it could be the church of Gemark. The whole composed townscape is dominated by the large red railway bridge, which is probably the viaduct on the Steinweg. The Wupper valley in the background is characterised by large industrial complexes with several factory buildings.

Compared to earlier works, which can still be classified stylistically as pre-war German Expressionism, there is here a shift towards a more New Objectivity style of painting, where the colours are in muted tones and the brushstrokes are less bold.