Italian snow, 1935

In early February 1935, Maurits and Jetta went to Abruzzo with the Mr and Mrs Leopold, a couple they had befriended. They travelled by bus from Rome to the region's medieval capital: Aquila. It was not that far, about 75 miles. They then travelled on to Campo Imperatore, a plateau in the Gran Sasso National Park. This plateau is the highest mountain range in the Apennines and is one of the oldest ski areas in Italy: skiing began here in the 1920s. Escher had long planned to move to Switzerland with his family, because of the rise of fascism in Italy and also because his sons’ health would benefit from the Swiss mountain air. This visit to the ski area can be seen as a first taste. But he does not seem all that keen yet. While Jetta is standing on the skis, he poses a little petulantly in the snow in a long woollen coat, a hat and black sunglasses. Glasses that he bought especially for this trip, as evidenced by an entry on the expense list in his meticulous diary: ‘Occhiali neri’ (black sunglasses): 12.00.