Citadel of Calvi

Escher visited the desolate island of Corsica several times. He was fascinated by the rock formations, the dizzying elevations, the mountain ranges, chasms, rivers, bays and coastline. There, he created many drawings and took plenty of photos and his travels gave rise to a series of woodcuts, wood engravings and lithographs.

He was specifically enamoured with the north-eastern town of Calvi and its massive citadel. This 15th century Genoese stronghold is situated on a rock on a headland and dominates the harbour and boulevard of the city. Escher produced several works based on the citadel. The first one is this woodcut, which he created after visiting Corsica in 1928, together with his father-in-law, Arturo Umiker. Jetta stayed at home. She was pregnant with their second child.

The gentlemen arrived in the port city of Bastia on 24 May, and then toured the island for several weeks. They visited Saint-Florent, Nonza, Albo, Pino, Luri, Corte, Vizzavona, Vivario, Bonifacio, Sartena, Ajaccio, Bastelica, Piana, Ota, Evisa and Soveri. All these place names represent the same number of sketches, some of which he subsequently developed into a print. In 1933 he made another trip, resulting in two more prints of the citadel and prints of the Calanques de Piana and the medieval town of Nonza.