Escher today

This week we had a slight change in terms of the works on display. Some were returned to the depot and in return a series of connected works can now be seen: nine woodcuts from the Emblemata series Escher produced in 1931. This is a unique opportunity to see this many ‘images with adages’, works accompanied by a motto and a poem.

In December 1938 Escher received a government commission to create 10 woodcuts for a booklet on Delft. For 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. 

The holidays are a time for relaxing, fun and enjoyment. Not just for people living their hectic lives today, but also for M.C. Escher in his day. He rarely worked on his prints during the summer months. He visited Switzerland, France or Italy with his family, went on holidays with Jetta or one of his sons, or made sea trips with his wife or friends. 

13 August 1923 saw Escher’s first solo exhibition open at the ‘Circolo Artistico’ in Siena. A milestone, but he paid very little attention to it. He was in love with Jetta Umiker and all his thoughts and actions were focused on her.

On August 9, 1957, Escher boarded the s.s. Luna, which was being loaded at the Surinamekade in Amsterdam. He was to spend over six weeks on board of this freighter, travelling to and across the Mediterranean, passing through a number of ports in Greece.  

It is International Cat Day. That should lead to an abundance of cute cat movies, but we will mark the occasion by sharing a work by Escher. He depicted several cats (and catlike animals) in his linocuts and woodcuts, mainly in his younger years. Sometimes as a subject, sometimes as a detail.

In August 1946 Escher created a mezzotint of a mummified frog. He rarely used this technique, despite the subtle nuances in tone it can achieve. The choice of both subject and composition are atypical for this period, in which he experiments with tessellations and geometrical shapes. He depicts the skeleton exactly as he sees it. Escher found the frog behind a piece of furniture in his own house. He printed the work himself on his own press, in an edition of 24 copies.

On 28 July 1750 German composer Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig. Maurits Cornelis Escher was a big fan. 'I believe that no music moves me as much...', he wrote about Bach’s compositions to his friend Roosje in June 1920.

On 23 July 1926 George Arnold Escher is born, the first of Maurits’s and Jetta’s three sons. He was named after grandfather Escher and after Nol, Escher’s brother who had tragically died during a mountain trip the year before.

'He's an adorable, sweet and beautiful child. Definitely not a freak,'

Escher wrote to his parents.

Summer holidays! Time to relax, to escape, to discover. The holidays always offer a new perspective. A fresh look on daily life, insight into other cultures, or just a new appreciation of the comfort of your own home. It can also bring a literal new perspective: the view from an aeroplane. Escher, a master in playing with perspective, never flew in a plane in the 30s. Yet, he could imagine this special perspective with the greatest ease.