OBS ARTIST PROFILES: M.C. ESCHER

This week OBS bring you another incredible artist; continuing our bi-weekly article, we bring you M.C. Escher.

Artist Name: Maurits Cornelis Escher

Date of Birth: June 17, 1898

Where From: Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Short Bio:
The youngest son and a sickly child, Escher was placed in a special school when he was seven and failed the second grade. From 1903 until 1918, he attended primary and secondary school and though he excelled at drawing, his grades were generally poor. As an adult he briefly studied architecture, but failed a number of subjects and switched to decorative arts. In 1922, Escher left the school, having gained experience in drawing and woodcuts and traveled through Italy and Spain, where he was impressed by the Italian countryside and the Alhambra in Granada. The same year he met his wife, Jetta Umiker. Escher became a Dutch-Frisian graphic-artist who was best known for his mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints when he died on March 27, 1972 in Hilversum, Netherlands.

Drawing Hands                                 Sky and Water

Circle Limit III                                 Relativity

Selected Bibliography of M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work
by J.L. Locher, Amsterdam (1981)

Een Biografie
by W. Hazeu, Amsterdam (1998)

The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher
by M.C. Escher

The Magic of M.C. Escher
by J.L. Locher and W.F. Veldhuysen, New York, London (2000)

M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry
by D. Schattschneider, New York and London (2004)

Escher on Escher: Exploring the Infinite
by M.C. Escher, Amsterdam (1986)

The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher
by Bruno Ernst, Amsterdam (1976)

Read more about Escher and his works HERE.