
The fact that Escher did this shows how significant his work is. Scholars today are still having trouble trying to figure out how Escher designed and produced some of his work. Not only was he considered a master of these printmaking styles, but he was also a master of mathematics. Escher produced a lot of works using complicated processes such as lithography, woodcutting, and mezzotints, which even after hours of research, I still don't fully understand. It is a selfish way of life, and I think that "Relativity" is an illustration of this fact in a truly unique way.Įastern Grey Squirrel Facts, Concerns, and Observations We are often so consumed with our own lives, only caring about ourselves, that we ignore those around us. This seems to be a representation of our lives.

To me, I see the faceless, identical people living among each other but acting as though they are oblivious to others around them. Besides being a stunning display of artistic skill, "Relativity" has meaning on a deeper level. I am personally interested in portraying three dimensions on a two-dimension surface, so "Relativity" is particularly interesting to me because Escher does a fantastic job of creating three-dimensional worlds all wrapped up in each other.
#Tessellation mc escher art full
The picture is full of these illogical situations. There might be a stairway with one person walking up the stairs, yet underneath those same stairs, upside-down, another person is walking down them. My favorite piece of Escher's work is called "Relativity," which depicts a world where people are living among each other but on different planes of existence. Not only that, but I think the most fun part is to just look at it and try to figure out how he does it. I am impressed because it is a very ingenious idea, and because it is very detailed, using two-point perspective and shading to create realistic three-dimensional objects. In two-dimensional terms, this drawing makes perfect sense, but when you view it in three-dimensional terms the brain unhinges because the object represented in the picture is physically impossible to create. I think Escher is messing with the brain's insistence to view two-dimensional objects as three-dimensional objects. This is a paradox because the water appears to be traveling downhill, and by the laws of physics it should, but it ends up at the top of the structure somehow, where it falls back down to the bottom. In the drawing, water is pushed along an aqueduct by a waterwheel until it reaches the end of the aqueduct where it falls back down to the beginning where it turns the waterwheel, again pushing the water along the aqueduct. Escher's creation called Waterfall is a perfect example of the way he tricks the viewer's mind. I was amazed to see his work because it opened my eyes to the way pictures can trick the mind. Most of his drawings are optical illusions because they seem to be impossible, but, at the same time, he draws them so well that they look real. Escher's work is that he plays with the viewer's knowledge of reality and perception. I can only imagine that Escher's work helped perpetuate the use of tessellations because he made them famous and interesting. Even today, tessellations are used in floor tiles, counter tiles, and wallpaper. He is prominently known for creating tessellation masterpieces. Escher died on March 27, 1972, at 73 years old.Īlthough Escher did not invent tessellations, he did however basically perfect them. Escher says that his stay in the Alhambra castle in Spain was ".the richest source of inspiration I have ever tapped." Escher continued to travel until he finally moved to a retirement home for artists in 1970. It was during these travels that Escher produced most of his works. Escher traveled constantly, moving back and forth from the Netherlands to Italy, Belgium, and Spain. It was then that Escher gained experience in drawing and making woodcuts.

He then switched to the decorative arts where he studied under Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita. At that school, he first studied architecture but failed in many of the subjects. At a young age, Escher did poorly at school, even during his enrollment at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem, Netherlands. His most famous works are his impossible structures, tessellations, and his explorations of infinity.

Escher, or Maurits Cornelis Escher, born on June 17, 1898, in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, was a graphic artist known for his creative and mind-boggling drawings, woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints.
