Artist Page -MC Escher
M.C. Escher Ascending Descending Self Portrat
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Maurits Cornelis Escher17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972), usually referred to asM. C. Escher, was aDutch graphic artist. He is known for his mathematicallyinspiredwoodcuts, lithographs, andmezzotints. These featureimpossible constructions, explorations ofinfinity, architecture, andtessellations.
In his early years, Escher sketched landscapes and nature. He also sketched insects, which appeared frequently in his later work. His first artistic work, completed in 1922, featured eight human heads divided in different planes. Later around 1924, he lost interest in "regular division" of planes, and turned to sketching landscapes in Italy with irregular perspectives that are impossible in natural form.
Drawing Hands, 1948 Sky and Water
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Escher's first print of an impossible reality wasStill Life and Street, 1937. His artistic expression was created from images in his mind, rather than directly from observations and travels to other countries. Well known examples of his work include Drawing Hands, a work in which two hands are shown, each drawing the other;Sky and Water, in which light plays on shadow tomorphthe water background behind fish figures into bird figures on a sky background; andAscending and Descending, in which lines of people ascend and descend stairs in an infinite loop, on a construction which is impossible to build and possible to draw only by taking advantage ofquirks of perceptionandperspective.
He worked primarily in the media oflithographsandwoodcuts, though the fewmezzotintshe made are considered to be masterpieces of the technique. In his graphic art, he portrayed mathematical relationships among shapes, figures and space.
Penrose Triangle Penrose Stairs
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Although Escher did not have mathematical training—his understanding of mathematics was largely visual and intuitive—Escher's work had a strong mathematical component, and more than a few of the worlds which he drew were built aroundimpossible objectssuch as thePenrose triangleand thePenrose stairs. Many of Escher's works employed repeated tilings calledtessellations.
The special way of thinking and the rich graphic work of M.C. Escher has had a continuous influence in science and art, as well as being referenced in popular culture. Ownership of the Escher intellectual property and of his unique art works have been separated from each other.