M. C. Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (June 17, 1898 - March 27, 1972) wasDutch artist most knownhis woodcuts, lithographsmezzotints, which tendfeature impossible constructions, explorationsinfinity,interlocking geometric patterns which change gradually into completely different forms.

Tablecontents

1 Escher's youth 2 Marriagelater life 3 Works 4 See also 5 External links 6 Notes 7 Bibliography

Escher's youth

Maurits Cornelis, or Mauk as he wasbe nicknamed, was bornLeeuwarden,Netherlands. He wasyoungest sonhydraulics engineer George Arnold Escherhis second wife, Sarah Gleichman. In 1903,family movedArnhem where he took carpentrypiano lessons untilagethirteen.

From 1912 until 1918, he attended secondary school; though he excelled at drawing, his grades were generally poor,he hadrepeatsecond class. Later, from 1919, Escher attendedHaarlem SchoolArchitectureDecorative Arts; he studied architecture briefly, but then madeswitchdecorative arts, studying under Samuel Jesserun de Mesquita, an artist whom he would remaincontactuntil de Mesquita, his wifeson were murdered byNazisearly 1944. In 1922, Escher, having gained experiencedrawingparticularly woodcutting, leftschool.

Marriagelater life

Escher travelledItaly regularly infollowing years,it wasItaly, too, that he first met Jetta Umiker,woman who would become his wife1924. The young couple settled downRome after marriagestayed there until 1935; whenpolitical climate under Mussolini became unbearable,family movedChâteau-d'Oex, Switzerland, wherestayedtwo years.

Escher, however, who had been very fondand inspired bylandscapeItaly, was decidedly unhappySwitzerland, so two years later,1937,family moved again, this timeUkkel,small town near Brussels, Belgium. World War II forced themmovelast timeJanuary 1941, this timeBaarn,Netherlands, where Escher lived until 1970.

MostEscher's better-known pictures date from this periodtime;cloudy, cold, wet weather ofNetherlands allowed himfocus entirely on his works,only1962, when he hadundergo surgery, there wastime where no new images were created.

Escher moved toRosa-Spier houseLaren innorthern Netherlands1970,retirement homeartists where he could havestudiohis own,died there on March 27, 1972.

Works

Well known exampleshis work include Drawing Hands,workwhich two handsshown drawing each other, SkyWater,which plays on lightshadow convert fishwater into birds insky,AscendingDescending,which linespeople ascenddescend stairs infinitely inloop, onconstruction whichimpossiblebuildpossibledraw only by taking advantagequirksperceptionperspective. Escher's work hasstrong mathematical component,many ofworlds which he drewbuilt around impossible objects such asNecker cube andPenrose triangle. ManyEscher's works employed repeated tilings called Tesselationss. Escher's artworkwell-liked by scientists, especially mathematicians who enjoy his usepolyhedrageometric distortions. For example,"Gravity", multi-colored dinosaurs poke their heads out ofstellated dodecahedron. His work has been referenced by Matt GroeningThe Simpsons famehis LifeHell comic. In Groening's parodyEscher's "Relativity", cartoon rabbits fall down stairs at impossible angles.

See also

• Gödel, Escher, Bach
• Printmaking

External links

• M.C. Escher The Official Website
• The WorldEscher - Artwork Gallery, Secure Shopping, Tesselations Contests

Notes

1. M. C. Escher's "Selfportrait" © 2003 Cordon Art - The Netherlands. All rights reserved. Used by kind permission.

Bibliography

• Locker, J.L. (2000). The MagicM. C. Escher. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0810967200
• Ernst, Bruno; Escher, M.C. (1995). The Magic MirrorM.C. Escher (Taschen Series). TASCHEN America Llc. ISBN 1886155003
• Abrams (1995). The M.C. Escher Sticker Book. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0810926385