M.C. Escher
M.C. Escher
(Dutch, 1898-1972)
Knots, 1965
woodcut in black, green and brown signed and inscribed 'eigen druk' in pencil
17 x 13 inches. Prints and Multiples (FA ONLY) signed and inscribed 'eigen druk' in pencil
Framed 28 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches.
Visible sheet: 20 1/2 x 16 inches.
Taped to mat at upper corners of the sheet verso; Toning to paper; scattered areas of handling creases; minor spots of foxing; light surface dirt. Please request additional images.
Literature:
Bool 444
Lot Essay:
We adore chaos because we love to produce order.
-M.C. Escher
Dutch artist M.C. Escher, born in 1898, is best known for his intricate and immediately recognizable woodcuts. Largely dismissed by the artworld until the age of 70 when he received his first retrospective, Escher’s work was a life-long passion. His iconic patterns and designs with their mathematically inspired tessellations and dream-like perspectives are rooted in his exploration of ‘the regular division of the plane.’ Inspired early on by his travels as a young man to Italy and Spain, much of his work is reminiscent of the detailed Moorish stonework of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and many of his early prints are sweeping landscapes of the Italian coast.
During his lifetime, Escher produced only about 450 different prints: woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints. By comparison, Pablo Picasso produced approximately 2,400 prints. Escher never had an apprentice or a printer to assist him in his process. Each of his prints were painstakingly printed by his own hand and often bear the inscription ‘eigen druk’ which means loosely ‘by my own pressure (hand).’
The four woodcuts presented here hail from the same private collection. Spanning from 1934-1965 they deftly encompass some of the central themes of Escher’s career: an incredibly rare proof of a landscape scene (Aeroplane Above a Snowy Landscape, 1934), planar experimentations (The Three Spheres, 1945), mathematical and dreamlike perspectives (Tetrahedral Planetoid, 1954) and his investigation of the concept of perpetual motion through the Möbius strip (Knots, 1965).
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M.C. Escher
(Dutch, 1898-1972)
Knots, 1965
woodcut in black, green and brown signed and inscribed 'eigen druk' in pencil
17 x 13 inches. Prints and Multiples (FA ONLY) signed and inscribed 'eigen druk' in pencil
Framed 28 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches.
Visible sheet: 20 1/2 x 16 inches.
Taped to mat at upper corners of the sheet verso; Toning to paper; scattered areas of handling creases; minor spots of foxing; light surface dirt. Please request additional images.
Literature:
Bool 444
Lot Essay:
We adore chaos because we love to produce order.
-M.C. Escher
Dutch artist M.C. Escher, born in 1898, is best known for his intricate and immediately recognizable woodcuts. Largely dismissed by the artworld until the age of 70 when he received his first retrospective, Escher’s work was a life-long passion. His iconic patterns and designs with their mathematically inspired tessellations and dream-like perspectives are rooted in his exploration of ‘the regular division of the plane.’ Inspired early on by his travels as a young man to Italy and Spain, much of his work is reminiscent of the detailed Moorish stonework of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and many of his early prints are sweeping landscapes of the Italian coast.
During his lifetime, Escher produced only about 450 different prints: woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints. By comparison, Pablo Picasso produced approximately 2,400 prints. Escher never had an apprentice or a printer to assist him in his process. Each of his prints were painstakingly printed by his own hand and often bear the inscription ‘eigen druk’ which means loosely ‘by my own pressure (hand).’
The four woodcuts presented here hail from the same private collection. Spanning from 1934-1965 they deftly encompass some of the central themes of Escher’s career: an incredibly rare proof of a landscape scene (Aeroplane Above a Snowy Landscape, 1934), planar experimentations (The Three Spheres, 1945), mathematical and dreamlike perspectives (Tetrahedral Planetoid, 1954) and his investigation of the concept of perpetual motion through the Möbius strip (Knots, 1965).
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
