Collection: M.C. Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972) was a Dutch graphic artist born in Leeuwarden and died in Hilversum. He produced woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints, often drawing inspiration from mathematical principles. His work frequently explored impossible constructions, tessellations, and visual paradoxes, aligning with aspects of surrealist thought.

Escher's artistic singularity lay in his precise rendering of complex mathematical concepts. He depicted impossible objects, explored infinity, reflection, symmetry, perspective, polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, and tessellations. Early in his career, he studied insects, landscapes, and plants. Travels in Italy and Spain, particularly the architectural tilings of the Alhambra and Mezquita of Cordoba, deepened his interest in mathematical structures, which he then integrated into his graphic work.

Despite popular interest, Escher received limited recognition within the art world for much of his life. His work gained wider appreciation in the late twentieth century, particularly among scientists and mathematicians. Martin Gardner featured his art in Scientific American in 1966, contributing to its visibility. Escher's concepts later influenced various technical papers, book covers, and inspired works like Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach.