In the extraordinary world of M.C. Escher time, space, and visual reality have been rearranged according to an ingenious logic›simultaneity of perspective is commonplace, space appears to be infinite, and positive and negative are interchangeable. Fascination is the result.
For years, Escher's wood engravings and lithographs were prized by only a small group of admirers by only a small group of admirers. Mathematicians and scientists marveled at his logic and precision, often using his prints to illustrate their theses. Collectors were charmed by his wit and uncanny ability to create fascinating Surrealistic worlds that delight the imagination and fool the eye. Yet today his designs, motifs, and constructed universes are justly famous—influencing everything from record-album covers and posters to textile prints and wallpaper. Escher's exquisite juxtapositions of light and dark in complex self-perpetuating patterns satisfy both modern man's fascination with the surreal and his need for order and balance.
This volume explores the diversified appeal of Escher's prints, whose reach spans the fields of mathematics and poetry, science fiction and art history. The five essays, including one by Escher himself, are unique in that they are by scientists as well as art historians: G.W. Locher is professor of sociology at the University of Leyden, C.H.A. Broos is curator of prints at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, H.S.M. Coxeter is professor of mathematics at Toronto University, and J.L. Locher is curator of the Modern Art Department of the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. A special color section has been included along with numerous working drawings and preparatory prints; the 300 illustrations afford the student and scholar a comprehensive view of Escher's total work, comprising a graphic catalogue that is at once technically masterful and compelling.
