Drawing Hands
M.C. Escher, Drawing Hands, lithograph, 28,2 x 33,2 cm, January 1948
In the Drawing Hands lithograph, two detailed, lifelike hands detach themselves from the paper. With carefully considered lines, they are sketching each other’s sleeves, which remain bound within the confines of the paper. The left-handed Escher uses his right hand here as a model. Whereas the hands are rendered as three-dimensional, the sleeves remain flat. This creates the startling illusion that the hands are actually drawing each other.