Escher the printmaker was best known for his interesting perspectives, mathematical approach to art, and the impossible scenes he portrayed. I have committed to showing prints that are visually pleasing rather than primarily of intellectual interest. Thus far, I have stayed away from the kind of work for which he is famous. There are some of his characteristic pieces that are also visually pleasing. Today’s print is one that I find delightful visually.
Escher became friendly with mathematician Bruno Ernst. After spending a lot of time with Escher, Ernst developed a mathematical classification for Escher’s prints, which I will share here for fun.
- Regular spatial figures
- Regular division of the plane
- Spirals
- Mobius strips
- Perspective
- Metamorphoses and cycles
- Approaches to infinity
- The conflict between depicting someting on a place, and the three-dimensional reality which is depicted
- The penetration of more worlds
- Spatial anomalies (impossible figures)
- Relativities
These categories make sense if you’ve seen a lot of Escher’s work. For those who haven’t and are interested, many of his works can be viewed online at the Escher Foundation’s Gallery. His complete graphic works are published in a book which is out of print, but used copies of which can be found at reasonable prices.
Today’s print, Reptiles, falls into categories 2 and 6 (Regular division of the plane, and Metamorphoses and cycles.) I hope you find it as pleasing as I do.
Reptiles (Lithograph, 1943)
