Nothing is quite what it seems in the universe of Maurits Cornelis Escher (widely known as M.C. Escher). The Dutch artist, famed for his graphic prints featuring infinite staircases, twisted perspectives and self-replicating animals, was a master of illusion in more ways than one.
Escher's pictures aren’t simply puzzles designed to play tricks on the brain; they were born of a desire to stretch our powers of perception, to encourage us to cultivate a natural curiosity and playfulness about the world around us. According to New York gallerist Skot Foreman, the artist had a rare gift. “He combined the structure and analytics of the left brain with the artistic creativity of the right brain,” Foreman explains. “Somehow, he turned images into mind-bending universes that were able to stretch the boundaries of our imagination, urging us to rethink the realms of possibility within nature’s laws of order.”
But creating illusionistic illustrations was not Escher’s only talent. He was also a passionate diarist, recording his thoughts and frustrations in written form throughout his life. He often lamented that his pictures could never fully convey his cerebral imaginings. At the same time, he expressed impatience with those who couldn’t see beyond the surface appeal of his shape-shifting patterns. Escher was an artist who sought perfection and felt misunderstood by the mainstream art world.
“The most important thing about Escher is that he was always curious, always researching and exploring. Most people lose this quality as they get older, but Escher maintained a childlike enthusiasm for the world,” says Dutch filmmaker Robin Lutz, whose thoughtful feature-length film, M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity, marries documentary footage with animation and unfolds at an unhurried pace, allowing Escher’s witty and intelligent prose to gently guide us through his creative evolution.
Escher always carried a magnifying glass in his pocket to “enjoy the tiniest details” at his feet, be it a plant climbing a rock, a butterfly or a grasshopper. He had a real passion for travel and spent more than a decade in Rome with his wife, Jetta, and young family. It was there that he first played with multiple perspectives, sketching the city’s architecture at night to avoid the “excessive baroque frills” he deemed too distracting in the daylight. Another big development was sparked by a 1936 visit to the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain. Inspired by the Moorish tiles of the 14th-century landmark, Escher started to experiment with repeating patterns, or tessellations, creating his first woodcuts and lithographs of metamorphosing birds, lizards and fish interlocking and filling the entire surface of the paper in jigsaw fashion.
During and directly after World War II, Escher produced many of his most famous works, emotional reactions to a world plunged into chaos. This period marked the start of his fascination with impossible staircases, never-ending waterfalls and cyclical still lifes featuring figures and creatures seemingly caught in a loop, a paradox of entrapment and renewal.
Indeed, the concept of infinity was a major inspiration for him. It informs his fish-eye studies and curvilinear perspectives, which cram in so much dizzying detail it’s impossible to know where one thing ends and another begins. It’s no wonder, then, that Escher’s probing, mind-expanding prints have such enduring appeal.
Find original M.C. Escher art on 1stDibs.
Original M.C. Esher Black Light poster ''Dream'' 1960s
By M.C. Escher
Located in Den Haag, NL
Unique and original very rare Black Light poster M.C. Escher After M.C.Escher Wood Engraving Dream 1935 . The poster still has its Bright colors and with the Black Light on ,its ...
Paper
1960 TWA - New York Original Vintage Poster
By David Klein
Located in Winchester, GB
This poster was created in 1960 for Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines promoting their routes to New York. Illustrated by influential American artist David Klein, this design featur...
Linen, Paper
$700
H 40.4 in W 25 in D 0.1 in
PHILADELPHIA - FLY TWA Authentic Original Vintage Airline Travel Poster 1960s
Located in Chicago, IL
PHILADELPHIA - FLY TWA Authentic original vintage airline travel poster Artist: Robert Swanson Condition: A/A- Dimensions: 25 x 40.4 in. / 63 x 102.5 cm. Circa: 1960s Linen Backed T...
Paper
$1,621
H 40 in W 25 in D 0.1 in
Original Vintage TWA HOLY LAND 1960s Travel Airline Poster, David Klein
By David Klein
Located in Bath, Somerset
Original vintage TWA Holy Land 1960s travel advertising poster featuring a wonderful design by American artist David Klein. We adore Klein's typically stylised and colourful design of a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak is approaching Noah's great wooden ark floating on the flood waters. Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles, soon followed by multiple National routes. Howard Hughes acquired control of TWA in 1939, and after World War II led the expansion of the airline to serve Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, making TWA a second unofficial flag carrier of the United States after Pan Am. David Klein (1918 – 2005) was an American artist, best known for his influential work in advertising. Although he produced illustrations for Broadway theatrical productions, Hollywood films, the United States Army, and numerous corporate clients, Klein is best remembered for the iconic travel images he created for Howard Hughes and Trans World Airlines (TWA). Between approximately 1955–1965, Klein designed numerous award-winning travel advertisement posters, the bulk for TWA, many of which are now considered emblematic of the 1960s Jet Age. In 1957 New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) added Klein's iconic TWA Times Square...
Linen, Paper
Spartacus (Japanese) Original Poster, 1960
Located in Winchester, GB
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Dalton Trumbo, and based on the 1951 novel of the same title by Howard Fast. It is ins...
Paper
Vintage Aviaton Poster by Sabena, 1960s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Vintage publicity poster for belgian airline company Sabena. 1960s - Belgium Height: 52cm/20.47" Depth: 43cm/16.92" Ref.: 226331
Paper
Minnie Mouse framed poster, France 1960s
Located in Firenze, IT
Minnie Mouse framed poster France 1960s 121 x 80 cm framed Conditions: good consistent with age and use. Small defects on the wooden frame.
Wood
1960 Psycho Original Vintage Poster
Located in Winchester, GB
Arguably the greatest and most famous film from arguably the greatest and most famous director, "Psycho" was released in 1960 and became Alfred Hitchcock's biggest box office hit. The first "slasher" film from the Master of Suspense starred Anthony Perkins...
Linen, Paper
$679
H 35 in W 24.5 in D 0.1 in
1982 Roy Lichtenstein - Sweet Dreams Baby - Colorado State Original Poster
By Roy Lichtenstein
Located in Winchester, GB
Featuring the beautiful artwork "Sweet Dreams Baby!" from 1965, this gorgeous poster was created to promote Pop-Artist Roy Lichtenstein's exhibition at Colorado State University in F...
Paper
Swiss Family Robinson Original Poster, 1960
Located in Winchester, GB
Released in 1960 to great critical and commercial acclaim, Walt Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson" was based on Johann David Wyss' famous 1812 book of the same name and remains one of ...
Paper
1960s BSA Motorcycles Original Vintage Poster
Located in Winchester, GB
Gorgeous poster advertising BSA Motorcycles. With vibrant yellow and red colour and backed on linen to ensure its preservation for the years to come, this piece is in absolutely fant...
Linen, Paper
$1,000
H 39.8 in W 25.2 in D 0.1 in
GREECE - FLY TWA JETS Original Vintage Airline Travel Poster MCM 1960s KLEIN
By David Klein
Located in Chicago, IL
GREECE - FLY TWA JETS Authentic original vintage airline travel poster Artist: David Klein Condition: A Dimensions: 25.2 x 39.8 in. / 64 x 101 cm. Circa: 1960 Linen Backed The poste...
Paper
1960 TWA - Portugal Original Vintage Poster
By David Klein
Located in Winchester, GB
Depicting the Equestrian Statue of Joseph in the countries capital of Lisbon, this stunning poster was created for Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines promoting their routes to Por...
Paper