After their holidays with the Schiblers in Steckborn, the Escher family travelled to the Netherlands at the end of June 1931. Jette and the kids would stay until 1 September and Maurits until 18 September. He used these three-and-a-half months to enhance and broaden his technique. He visited the artist Fokko Mees, who taught him the possibilities of end-grain engraving with a chisel. Escher bought a burin with a magnifying glass to create this very detailed work. This magnifying glass was a linen tester, traditionally used in the textile industry. *
His first attempt was an invitation card for his exhibition at art dealer Liernur in the Hague. He used the Lion of Saint Marcus at the piazza in Ravello as a subject. He visited the lion several times himself and he would use it again later, in a lithograph. Newspaper Het Vaderland wrote about it:
‘A skilfully engraved little lion, with archaic allure, invites us to see this exhibition; and anyone accepting this invite will not be disappointed.’
Source
[*] Wim Hazeu, M.C. Escher, Een biografie, Meulenhoff, 1998, page 147-148