Do you remember the first time you saw a puzzling print showing the deceptive perspectives created by Maurits Escher? What did you think and what did you feel? Were you surprised about what you saw? Did you try to understand it? Like so many others, I was in total amazement when I saw his work for the first time, and actually, I still am. So to say: I am a great admirer of Escher, and I can get totally lost in his wonderful graphical work.
2023 Escher Jubilee Year
The Hague will be called the city of Escher in 2023. Maurits Cornelis Escher, specialized in optical illusions, was born in 1898. Therefore 2023 is a jubilee year, it will be 125 years ago that Escher was born. In The Hague, 4 special Escher exhibitions will be organized in the Haagse Kunstmuseum and at the museum Escher in Het Paleis.
Maurits Cornelis Escher a Dutch graphic designer of deceptive, fantastic parallel worlds
Maurits Escher was born in Leeuwarden in 1898. Actually, a stubborn Frisian who managed to make the most wonderful drawings. His deceptive perspectives put people on the wrong foot. Escher’s work causes amazement and amazement as he is specialized in creating optical illusions. The almost mathematical engravings show buildings with impossible stairwells, waterfalls that go up, and divisions of planes where schools of fish turn into flocks of birds.
Escher mainly created wood engravings, lithographs, and woodcuts.
Much of Escher’s work is based on nature, perspective, reflections, and surface divisions. Some of his work expresses a search for the infinite. Escher loved to travel around southern Europe and at one point he ended up in Alhambra in Grenada. The repeating patterns and tessellations in Alhambra’s mosaics were an inspiration for his future artistic work. Escher worked mainly with woodcuts, wood engravings, and lithographs, in which he incorporated mathematical principles. ” I play with irrefutable certainties”, he once said.
Visualizing Mathematics in fantastic Worlds
Escher was not a scientist. Some say he was a mathematician and others say he was a graphic artist, but everybody agrees that he was great at visualizing mathematics. Escher was a unique person and the Dutch are very proud of him.
Escher and his family lived in Italy and Switzerland for some time, but when the World War broke out they moved back to the Netherlands. The famous Dutch artist lived in the city of Baarn for many years! M.C. Escher died in 1972 and his grave is in the cemetery of the city of Baarn.
Movies and a Museum showing the process of Metamorphosis
As a tribute to the great graphic and mathematic artist Escher, Robin Lutz made the movie ‘The endless search’ and National Dutch Television made the Interactive documentary “The Metamorphosis of Escher”.
Escher’s work – an extensive collection including his finest work – can be admired in the Escher Palace in The Hague.
On the website of Dutch Television, and Radio, NTR, you find the interactive documentary Metamorphose II where you can make your own Escher.
➔ NTR Interactive documentary Metamorphose
➔ Museum Escher in het pales | Escher in the palace | The Hague
If you are interested in our carefully created selection of yearly returning events in the Netherlands, check out our: AGENDA .
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