Maurits Escher's Work

Maurits Escher's work is very diverse and not just restricted to painting. As a young boy, his art teacher taught him to make linocuts. Maurits' earliest works were mainly linoleum cuts which were probably printed in one of his artist friend's' printing studio.

In 1917, Maurits and his friends developed a passion for literature and he started writing some of his own poems and essays. The following years, being rejected for the military, he made many drawings and started using woodcuts. During that time his work got acknowledged by the media and received many good reviews.

In 1921, Escher and his parents visited the Riviera and Italy and he made detailed drawings and sketches of cacti, olive trees and dramatic sights. He also started experimenting with subjects like mirror imaging, crystal shapes and spheres which influenced his later work.

His first print which sold in large numbers was a woodcut titled 'St. Francis'. He also did some sign work, lithographs and several commissioned prints. In 1924, his first exhibition was held in The Netherlands and many more would follow in the following years.

In 1936, his work took a turn to an entire new direction; works of impossible realities, plane-filling techniques, shapes, and transformations. He also tried a new technique which was called mezzotint in 1946 and he and a couple of other artists held a huge exhibition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in 1949, showing off their work.

Escher was not shy of taking on unusual commissions like designing a tapestry for a weaver, ceiling decorations for Philips and other commissioned works during 1949/1950. At this point, he still was not very well known outside Europe.

Maurits established his name in the States with an exhibition in Washington during 1950 and even more in 1951 after two articles on him and his work which were published in Time and Life magazine.

Between 1956 and 1958, his work took off in the direction of mathematical and crystallographic aspects and infinity. One of his most famous works and good example of that is the never ending staircase 'Ascending and Descending'.

Several books were published by and about Maurits' work and life and his name became well known all over the globe. Up until today, his works still fascinate and are admire by many and I suspect that will be infinite, just like his work!