The magical world of Escher

When looking for a corporate identity I advise you to get inspired by art. Therefore, I regularly pay attention to an artist or art movement in my blog. This edition is about Maurits Cornelis Escher: a Dutch graphic artist who let water stream up high, turned birds into fish, made hands drew each other, and got famous all over the world because of his graphic interpretation of an impossible magical world.

Travel

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world most famous graphic artists. Known for his seemingly impossible drawings, he also produced more realistic art during the time he lived in Italy. This period is reflected in some of his master pieces, such as Metamorphosis I and II. During his life, M.C. Escher produced 448 lithographies and woodcuts and over 2000 drawings and sketches. Just like some of his famous predecessors – Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vince and Dürer – Escher was left-handed. He also illustrated books and designed carpets, stamps and mural paintings. Escher was born in Leeuwarden as the fourth and youngest son. Five years later his family moved to Arnhem, where he spent his child hood. After he failed his exam, Escher started studying engineering at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. A week later, he told his father he wanted to focus on graphic art. After finishing his studies, he travelled through Italy, where he met his wife Jetta Umiker. The couple married in 1924 and stayed in Rome until 1935. Besides travelling through Italy, he also visited Switzerland and Spain, taking photos and making drawings and sketches, which he later used back home in his studio to produce his pieces of art.

Maurits Cornelis Escher drawing at Mount Vesuvius, May 30 1934

Magical

Escher was fascinated by the recurring geometrical shapes of several wall and floor mosaic works in the Alhambra, a 14th century castle in Granada (Spain) which he visited in 1922. He played with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces, and his art still amazes and touches millions of people all over the world. In his work, we recognize his outstanding observation skills of the world around us and the expression of his own fantasy. Escher shows us reality can be magical, understandable and fascinating. From his optical illusions to his play with perspective: daily subjects were turned into something unusual by Escher just by choosing a certain angle or cut.

Photography

Photography was the perfect medium to start experimenting with angle and cut for Escher. This started when he was 15. Sketching and producing woodcuts and lithographies take time, planning and consideration. Photography is done in a split second, and is therefore the ideal playing field for an experiment. In his earlier years, Escher experimented willingly with photography. Testing contrasts between light and darkness, large and small, different perspectives, he tried everything. These experiments provided the foundation of Escher’s vision as an artist. The vision that would make him famous.

Exposition

Ben je net als miljoenen anderen ineens nieuwsgierig geworden en wil je het werk van M.C. Escher bewonderen, ga dan in Den Haag naar de expositie 'Escher in Het Paleis'. Ook op Pinterest vind je een interessante presentatie van zijn werk.

Are you, just like millions of others, interested in M.C. Escher’s art? Visit the exposition ‘Escher in the Palace’ in Den Haag, or check Pinterest for an interesting presentation of his work.