ART HERITAGE PROGRAM Mesa County Valley School District 51 Grand Junction, CO crbrady ©2008 M. C. Escher 1898 – 1972

M. C. Escher was born in 1889 in Holland. He was an artist who created very detailed drawings, prints and paintings. Escher is known for using “tessellations” as an art form. A tessellation is a special kind of design made from shapes that fit together perfectly and have no spaces in between. He explored a branch of mathematics, the formation of crystals, and came up with the formulas on his own. Escher knew instinctively what scientists later proved...there is natural symmetry that is observable (like the shape of trees, or the formation of snowflakes).

“Every person is the center of their own world.” M. C. Escher SELF-PORTRAIT IN SPHERE: 1935

2. REPTILES: 1943: Lithograph: 13 1/8" x 15 1/8":

3. METAMORPHOSE III: : Woodcut: Second State: 7 ½" x 22 1/3": Printed from 33 blocks on a combined sheet, mounted on canvas and partly colored by hand:

4. SKY AND WATER I: 1938: Woodcut: 17 1/8" x 17 1/4":

5. DAY AND NIGHT: 1938: Woodcut: Printed from 2 blocks. 15 3/8" x 26 5/8": “Whoever wants to portray something that does not exist has to obey certain rules. Those rules are more or less the same as for the teller of fairy tales: he must produce contrasts; he must cause a shock.”

6. REGULAR DIVISION OF PLANE IV: 1957: Woodcut: 9 ½" x 7 1/8":

7. OTHER WORLD: 1947: Wood engraving and woodcut in black, reddish-brown and green, cut from 3 blocks:

8. RELATIVITY: 1953: 11 1/8" x 11 5/8":

9. DEPTH: 1955: Wood Engraving, Woodcut: 12 5/8" x 9":

10. SMALLER AND SMALLER: 1956: Wood Engraving and Woodcut: Made from 4 blocks: 15" x 15":

11. BOND OF UNION: 1956; Lithograph: 10" x 13 3/8":

12. MOBIUS STRIP II (RED ANTS): 1963: Woodcut printed from 3 blocks: 17 7/8" x 8 1/8":

Facts about Escher’s life… Tessellations – division of the picture plane into interlocking shapes that do not overlap and fill in all the space. Metamorphosis – when an object changes physical form. Was sickly as a child and throughout his life Only made good marks in ART class Never finished High School Tried to join military (WWII) but was rejected for health reasons AND not finishing High School After that he really began to create art and began using woodcuts. woodcuts plural of wood·cut (Noun) Noun A print of a type made from a design cut in a block of wood, formerly widely used for illustrations in books. The technique of making such prints. linoleum cuts Web definitions (Linoleum Cut) A relief print carved into linoleum rather than wood.. mez·zo·tint a manner of engraving on copper or steel by scraping or burnishing a roughened surface to produce light and shade Had success in selling prints Later in life made his living lecturing.

M. C. Escher died in His art has continued to amaze millions of people all over the world. He played with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces. In his work we recognize his keen observation of the world around us and the expressions of his own fantasies. M.C. Escher shows us that reality is wondrous, comprehensible and fascinating. What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness. Quoted in D MacHale, Comic Sections (Dublin 1993)