Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis EscherDutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is internationally appreciated for his graphic art today. He is best known for his woodcuts, mezzotints, and lithographs, featuring mathematical and “impossible” objects, in which he explored symmetry, perspective, infinity, and reflection. Born as the youngest son of a civil engineer, he was a sickly child and had poor grades at school failing second More is internationally appreciated for his graphic art. He is best known for his woodcuts, mezzotints, and lithographs, featuring mathematical and “impossible” objects in which he explored symmetry, perspective, and infinity. The picture “Hand with Reflecting Sphere”, also known as “Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror”, is the most famous example of his fascination with reflection and distortion. Although associated with SurrealismSurrealism was a 20th-century philosophical, literary, and artistic movement seeking to channel the unconscious to access the imaginary. Proponents of Surrealism rejected the notion of understanding life in rational and conventional terms in favour of asserting the value of the unconscious mind, dreams, the strangely beautiful, and the uncanny. André Breton, the leader of a group of poets and artists More due to his fantastical imagery, Escher never saw himself as belonging to any of the art movements of his time.
Where is the picture “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” today?
The original print of the lithograph “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” is part of the Rosenwald Collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. today.
What’s in it?
The lithograph “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” shows a hand in minute detail holding a crystal ball on his fingertips. The crystal distortedly reflects a man, the artist himself, who is holding the ball, observing himself and the scene around him. Sunlight from the window at the opposite end of the room emphasizes the furniture behind the protagonist and casts a shadow across his face. The background includes a scene of his studio in Rome with several of his own framed pictures on the wall.
What’s the context?
The lithograph “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” is part of the body of work that Escher created during his stay in Italy from 1923 to 1935. In these years he explored depictions of landscapes, towns, and architecture that he encountered on his extensive explorations around the country. The work he produces in his Italian period are detailed portrayals combining realism with the imaginary.
While self-portraits in spherical surfaces abound in Escher’s work, this image is the most prominent example. In several other pictures of this type, the artist presents himself in the act of drawing the sphere, whereas in “Hand with Reflecting Sphere” he is shown gazing into his reflection. With his work, Escher acknowledges the tradition of self-portraits of much earlier artists painting themselves in convex surfaces, such as the “Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror” (1524) by Parmigianino and Caravaggio’s “Medusa” (1597).
Chatter and Prattle
M. C. Escher – Facts:
Contrary to popular belief, Escher had only little formal knowledge of mathematics. He was never an outstanding student, and his theoretical mathematical knowledge was restricted to what he had received at secondary school. He later tried to study architecture but decided to drop out to fully focus on his career as a graphic artist. Notwithstanding, mathematics, and geometry became key elements of his artistic work. He was specifically interested in concepts such as the regular division of the plane, which he explored in depth in his lithographs, further worked with S. M. Coxeter on tessellations and formed a lasting collaboration with Roger Penrose exploring mathematically impossible forms.
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Recommended Reading:
M. C. Escher (2000): M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work Introduced and Explained By the Artist
Bruno Ernst (1997): The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher (Taschen Specials) by Bruno Ernst (1997-07-31)
F. H. Bool et al. (1992): M.C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work (With a Fully Illustrated Catalogue)
J. L. Locher (2013): The Magic of M.C. Escher
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