MC+Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher was an artist, draftsman, book illustrator, tapestry designer, and muralist, who created his best works in Baarn, Netherlands. He was famous for drawings that combined math and art in his works. However, he is most known for creating optical illusions and inventing the idea of tessellations. Escher was Dutch and lived all over Europe in places like Château-d'Œx, Switzerland; Uccle in Brussels, Belgium; and Laren, Netherlands. He was born on June 17, 1898, in Leeuwarden, Netherlands; and died on March 27, 1972, at the age of 73 in Laren, Netherlands. MC Escher was the youngest of five children with four older brothers. Interestingly, Escher was in the elite club of left-handed artists.

MC Escher created many, many works of art. His first ever was a portrait of his father, which he completed in 1916. Escher’s last ever piece was //Bird// (no 128), which was finished it in 1967. My favorite of his works is //Sphere Spirals// from 1958 because his use of shading and color choices bring the illusion to life. The Escher museum, located in The Hague, has an entire floor dedicated to his optical illusions. Also in The Hague, is Het Paleis. This is where you will find some of Escher's work dedicated to tessellations. //The Metamorphosis III//, which is a 7-meter long tessellation piece, is on display here. He made Metamorphosis out of tessellations, which means he started with a tessellation and morphed it into many different tessellations as he moved across the page.

MC Escher did many things throughout his life. He became a very remarkable and inspirational person. He figured out how to draw intersecting solids and learned to create the illusion of infinite space in some of his drawings as well. Escher's impact can be seen in many aspects of design, art, and math throughout our world today.