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In December 1938 Escher received a government commission to create ten woodcuts of the city of Delft, for a book publication. In return, Escher would receive the not insubstantial sum of 800 guilders (about €7,500 now)*. The commission was inspired by a series he created in 1934, called Nocturnal Rome. In the end, the book was never published, but he did produce the woodcuts. Since this series is the only one he made about a Dutch city, the outcome is rather special.
Using his parents’ home in The Hague as a base, he travelled to Delft by tram day after day in April 1939. He walked through the city, drawing suitable woodcut locations: Oostpoort, Oude and Nieuwe Kerk (churches), Town Hall, Markt (marketplace). He did so from the street but sometimes he climbed to even higher positions to get a better vantage point. The director of the Municipal Works gave him the rare and exceptional permission to ascend the tower of the Oude Kerk. Based on these drawings, Escher would create the woodcuts back home in Ukkel (Belgium) during the summer.
M.C. Escher, Delft: Entrance to the Oude Kerk, woodcut, January 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Nieuwe Kerk, woodcut, May 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Oostpoort, woodcut, June 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Voldersgracht, woodcut, June 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Town Hall, woodcut, July 1939
This is a Renaissance style building dating from 1619-20, located on the Markt opposite the Nieuwe Kerk. Escher depicted the building from the south. The rear facade is partly scaffolded, probably due to the restoration that took place between 1934 and 1939.
M.C. Escher, Delft: (Interior) Nieuwe Kerk, woodcut, July 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Voldersgracht (detail), woodcut, July 1939
M.C. Escher, Delft: Roofs, woodcut, August 1939
![<p>M.C. Escher, Delft: ([Seen] from the Tower of the) Oude Kerk, woodcut, August 1939</p>](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprdzoomst01.blob.core.windows.net%2Fescher-production-silverstripe-assets-public%2FUploads%2FImageBlock%2F318-delft-vanuit-de-oude-kerk.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
M.C. Escher, Delft: ([Seen] from the Tower of the) Oude Kerk, woodcut, August 1939
Source
[*] Wim Hazeu, M.C. Escher, Een biografie, Meulenhoff, 1998, page 257-258
