Where to See M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher's works appear in numerous public collections around the world. In the United States, you can find his pieces at the Art Institute of Chicago^[3]; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; and the National Gallery of Art^[2], Washington DC. In Europe, notable locations include the Staatliche Museen, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; the Kunstmuseum, Basel; the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva; the Kunstmuseum, Luzern; the Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna; the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; the Kunstmuseum Bern; and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. Other museums that hold his work are located in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

M.C. Escher was a graphic artist. Printmaking has a long history; the earliest examples on paper are from China, after paper became available in the second century A.D. In Europe, printmaking began to flourish at the end of the fourteenth century. Woodcuts were used for book illustrations, religious icons, souvenirs, and playing cards. Prints assumed greater artistic importance in the later nineteenth century. Artists began to sign their prints, differentiating original graphics from commercial reproductions. A signature testified to authenticity and the artist's approval. Artists also controlled quality by limiting edition sizes and numbering prints. This influenced the price and prevented printing after the plate degraded. Handmade papers further contributed to the aesthetic value. Edition numbers are typically written on the bottom left margin of the print, in pencil, as a fraction. The print number appears above the total edition size. The print's title is in the centre, and the artist's signature is on the right.

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is remembered for his mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. His art often features impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, tessellations, repeating patterns, and metamorphoses. Escher's work gained popularity outside the art world, especially among mathematicians and scientists, due to its clever use of mathematical principles. His images provide visualisations of mathematical concepts like hyperbolic geometry and Möbius strips, making these abstract ideas more accessible. This interdisciplinary appeal contributes to his ongoing relevance. His images continue to be reproduced and reinterpreted in popular culture. Escher's art has influenced various fields, including advertising, architecture, and computer graphics. The artist's exploration of perception and illusion remains engaging. His images prompt viewers to question their assumptions about reality and representation. This encourages a playful, thoughtful interaction with art.

M.C. Escher died in 1972, at the age of seventy-three.

M.C. Escher produced 448 lithographs, woodcuts, and wood engravings.

In 1922 and again in 1936, M.C. Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada; the Moorish tessellation patterns inspired him. These patterns showed him that surfaces could be filled with repeating forms that fitted together like a puzzle.

M.C. Escher began developing his own tessellations using recognisable figures: birds, fish, lizards, and horsemen. Each shape interlocked with its neighbour.

His graphic arts teacher, Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, persuaded M.C. Escher to switch from architecture to printmaking.