For years I’ve specialised in the work of the Dutch and Flemish masters from the sixteenth and seventeenth century. I’ve put together exhibitions, written catalogues, conducted research. Visited collections, made new plans and, as much as possible, kept working on graphic art.
Graphic art has always fascinated me. The playful interactions of lines on paper. The craftsmanship. The reproducibility. Ever since the start of printing, graphic art has been a way into the soul of the artist. The fleeting thought, the razor-sharp satire or the early experiment. Whereas with painting it requires a lot of time to build a single, unique copy with layer upon layer of paint, in graphic art one printing plate suffices to produce many copies. This allows the artist to reach a wider audience, to more easily disseminate or try out ideas - graphic art is the artist’s playground.
Likewise for Maurits Cornelis Escher. He used every possibility afforded by graphic techniques to play, to make reproductions, to experiment. This self-portrait in a spherical mirror is not only an illustration of the artist; it is a reflection of his spirit. A reflection of fascination. A self-portrait, by means of optical illusion. The illusion not just of a mirror, but of a spherical mirror, which allows to artist to fully exploit the opportunities to play with dimensions.
Escher’s face forms the centre point of the spherical mirror and the centre of the composition. Sharp lines delineate his face. A face with character. The face of an artist who worked on his oeuvre for years with neither recognition nor appreciation. An artist who in his youth was bad at maths, but is now known for inspiring mathematicians worldwide. An artist who didn’t necessarily strive for beauty, but who saw his work as the result of a quest. Escher created his own worlds, inspired by his amazement at and admiration for the laws and patterns that govern the space we inhabit. All through the medium of graphic art.
