1. M. C. Escher

2. 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.

3. His teachers persuaded him to study architecture in college
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.

4. EARLY WORK
Escher’s Father, 1916
Linoleum Cut in purple
6” x 8”

5. Woodcut Print 6” x 14” Wild West Wild West, 1920
1920 Woodcut. 175mm x 357mm.
Wild West
Wild West, 1920
Woodcut Print
6” x 14”

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

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

8. They settled in Rome & stayed until 1935.
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 Umiker
1925 Woodcut.
George Escher
1929 Woodcut
14” x 16”
Self Portrait
1929 Lithograph
7” x10”

9. 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.

10. M.C. Escher
Castrovalva
21” x 17”
Lithograph
1930

11. Inside St. Peter’s
1935, Wood Engraving
12” x 9”

12. San Gimignano
1923 Woodcut. 19” x 11”

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. View of the Alhambra, Granada, Spain Built in 889 One of Spain’s most popular attractions.

16. Views of the Alhambra

18. Sea Horse (No. 11)
Pencil, Ink, Watercolor
Horse (No. 8)
Pencil, Watercolor

19. Bird/ Fish (No. 22)
1938 India ink, colored pencil, watercolor.
Two Birds (No. 18)
1938 India ink, pencil, watercolor.
Lizard (No. 25)
1939 India ink, pencil, watercolor.

20. M. C. Escher created hundreds of complex tessellations in his lifetime.
He developed “morphing” tessellations that started with one object and changed into another.

21. Sky and Water I, 1938
Woodcut, 17” x 17”

22. Fish and Frogs
2” x 3”
1942

23. Liberation, 1948
7” x 17”

24. Metamorphosis I, 1937
1937 Woodcut printed on 2 sheets
7” x 35”

25. Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali, 1931
Another great influence on Escher’s art is Surrealism. This painting is the most famous Surrealist painting.
Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali, 1931

26. 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.

27. Escher’s later work became SURREALISTIC-(dreamlike).
Relativity
1953, 11” x 11”

28. Reptiles
1943, Lithograph, 15” x 13”

29. Still Life with Spherical Mirror
1934, Lithograph, 12” x 11”

30. Drawing Hands
1948, Lithograph, 11” x 13”

31. 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.