M. C. Escher1898-1972

• Maurits Cornelis (M. C.) Escher was born in Leeurwarden, Netherlands in 1898.

• Over his lifetime, he made 448 lithographs and woodcuts. He made over 2000 drawings and sketches.

• In secondary school, he was introduced to linoleum cut printmaking.

• His teachers persuaded him to study architecture in college. However, he soon dropped this and studied graphic art.

• Escher illustrated books, designed tapestries, postage stamps and murals.

• Like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Dürer, Escher was left-handed.

EARLY WORK

Escher’s Father, 1916Linoleum Cut in purple

6” x 8”

Wild West, 1920Woodcut Print

6” x 14”

Wild West1920 Woodcut. 175mm x 357mm.

Self Portrait, 1920, Woodcut Print 6” x 7”

White Cat, 1916, Woodcut Print, 6.5” x 6.5”

• After finishing school, he traveled extensively through Italy. He met his wife Jetta Umiker and married in 1924.

• They settled in Rome & stayed until 1935.

Jetta Umiker1925 Woodcut.

George Escher1929 Woodcut

14” x 16”

Self Portrait1929 Lithograph

7” x10”

• M. C. Escher and his wife Jetta had 3 sons: George, Arthur and Jan.

• During these 11 years in Rome, Escher traveled each year through Italy.

• Escher would sketch the Italian landscapes he saw.

• When he returned home, he would turn these sketches into prints.

M.C. Escher

Castrovalva

21” x 17”

Lithograph

1930

Inside St. Peter’s1935, Wood Engraving

12” x 9”

San Gimignano1923 Woodcut. 19” x 11”

• In 1936, M. C. Escher took a trip to Spain that would forever change his life. While there, he visited the Alhambra (a Muslim mosque).

• The tile work in this building inspired a new phase in his art. He filled notebooks with the tile designs. He became consumed with the patterns of the tile.

• After this visit, his artwork was divided into two sections: pre-1937 work and post-1937 work.

• The work before 1937 was mostly real images- usually landscapes.

• His work after 1937 became filled with tessellations and art from his imagination.

View of the Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Built in 889One of Spain’s most popular attractions.

Views of the Alhambra

Sea Horse (No. 11)1937-1938

Pencil, Ink, Watercolor

Horse (No. 8)1937-1938

Pencil, Watercolor

Two Birds (No. 18)1938 India ink, pencil, watercolor.

Lizard (No. 25)1939 India ink, pencil, watercolor.

Bird/ Fish (No. 22)1938 India ink, colored pencil, watercolor.

• M. C. Escher created hundreds of complex tessellations in his lifetime.

• He developed “morphing” tessellations that started with one object and changed into another.

Sky and Water I, 1938

Woodcut, 17” x 17”

Fish and Frogs2” x 3”1942

Liberation, 1948

7” x 17”

Metamorphosis I, 19371937 Woodcut printed on 2 sheets

7” x 35”

Another great influence on Escher’s art is

Surrealism.This painting is the most famous Surrealist painting.

Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali, 1931

• After seeing the work of the Surrealists, Escher’s work changed once again.

• His work started with reality and changed into imagination- it became dreamlike.

Relativity1953, 11” x 11”

Escher’s later work became SURREALISTIC-(dreamlike).

Reptiles1943, Lithograph, 15” x 13”

Still Life with Spherical Mirror1934, Lithograph, 12” x 11”

Drawing Hands1948, Lithograph, 11” x 13”

• Not only did Escher make mathematical prints, he made over 448 lithographs, woodcuts and over 2000 drawings.

• He kept working until his death in 1972.