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Encounter
19 May 2017

Encounter

Encounter, from May 1944, and Reptiles are the better-known works Escher produced during the war. He describes Encounter like this*:

Out from the grey surface of a back wall there develops a complicated pattern of white and black figures of little men. And since men who desire to live need at least a floor to walk on, a floor has been designed for them, with a circular gap in the middle so that as much as possible can still be seen of the back wall. In this way they are forced not only to walk in a ring, but also meet each other in the foreground: a white optimist and a black pessimist shaking hands with one another.'

M.C. Escher, Ontmoeting, litho, mei 1944

M.C. Escher, Ontmoeting, litho, mei 1944

The optimist has his hand open, as a gesture of friendship. The pessimist has his finger raised, as a warning. Yet they shake hands, which lends the print a touch of the encouraging in these times of war.

Regular division drawing no. 63 (Pessimist-Optimist), ink, coloured pencil and  and watercolour on paper, January 1944

Regular division drawing no. 63 (Pessimist-Optimist), ink, coloured pencil and and watercolour on paper, January 1944

M.C. Escher, study for Encounter, pencil on paper, 1944

M.C. Escher, study for Encounter, pencil on paper, 1944

M.C. Escher, study for Encounter, pencil on paper, 1944 (detail)

M.C. Escher, study for Encounter, pencil on paper, 1944 (detail)

M.C. Escher, Encounter, lithograph, May 1944 (detail)

M.C. Escher, Encounter, lithograph, May 1944 (detail)

Source

[*] M.C. Escher, The Graphic Work, TASCHEN, 2001, blz. 11

Erik Kersten

Erik Kersten

Editor

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Cycle

Cycle

During 1937, 1938 and 1939 Escher becomes increasingly fascinated by tessellations, cycles and transformations. He produces Metamorphosis I, Development I, Day and Night, Cycle, Sky and Water I and II and Development II. Most of them are woodcuts. Cycle, from May 1938, is the only lithograph.
Porthole

Porthole

After having travelled along the Italian coast on the freighter Rossini by himself, Escher’s wife Jetta joins him on 11 May 1936. They spend a day in Genoa, they visit Pisa and on 13 May they travel on to Savona. Because the ship did not stay long, Escher does not disembark. He takes a photo of a sailing boat that he sees through the porthole of his cabin.
Dusk, the first mezzotint

Dusk, the first mezzotint

In 1946, Escher delved into the mezzotint, a technique that was new to him. The possibility of obtaining extremely subtle gradations of light and dark with this technique fascinated him.