Prepare to be amazed by the works of M.C. Escher

Escher in The Palace received a special donation: three napkins from the hand of artist and designer Chris Lebeau (1878-1945). These napkins, Refraction, Shoal of Fish and Apple, once belonged to M.C. Escher, and are on display until June 2025.

How to depict infinity on paper? This was a question that exercised the minds of both M.C. Escher and Albert E. Bosman. Albert E. Bosman (1891-1961) was a multitalented engineer who was keen to make mathematics and geometry accessible. He was not only a maths teacher, but also an enthusiastic artist who drew inspiration from his area of expertise. Bosman and Escher were neighbours in Baarn (NL) from 1944 to 1961. They shared a deep fascination with mathematical concepts and both explored limits and the finite and infinite in their work.

From 18 March to 7 September, Escher in The Palace exhibits a special loan, namely a carefully written letter from Escher enthusiast Hendrik Dekker. In the letter, he expresses his admiration for the print Reptiles (1943). The handwritten response by Escher himself is also on display.

Did you recently visit Escher in The Palace? Your experience and opinion are very important to us, which is why we would like to ask you to participate in our online visitor survey. We will use the results to further improve the visitor experience at the museum.

The management of Escher in The Palace is delighted at The Hague city council’s decision to grant a credit facility for the costs of redesigning the former US embassy on Lange Voorhout in The Hague to house the museum. This represents a first step towards its evolution to a fully-fledged museum accessible to all. The European tendering procedure for the design of the new museum will be launched shortly.

Escher was a printmaker, but what exactly is that? Read the pages below to find out more about the techniques he used: woodcut, wood engraving, linocut, lithography, etching and mezzotint. Each of them has its own particular qualities, so the prints made using these techniques differ in terms of their complexity and visual character.

Would you like to learn more about graphic art, and what makes the work of M.C. Escher so special? During our linocut workshop, you will make your own graphic work. Every Sunday afternoon you can join us.

M.C. Escher was fascinated, maybe even obsessed, by tessellations. He could puzzle for hours, days and months on the many ways a plane could be filled with repetitive figures. Would you like to try this yourself? Now you can.

Several times a year, Escher in The Palace organises special guided tours for those who are blind or visually impaired. Before regular opening hours, between 09.30 and 11.00, we open our doors and take you on a tour of a number of masterpieces from the museum’s permanent exhibition. During the…