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Villa Les Clématites
4 July 2017

Villa Les Clématites

On 4 July 1935, the Escher family moved from Rome to the Swiss town of Château-d’Oex, out of sheer necessity. Maurits would have liked to stay in Italy, but he found the rise of fascism increasingly hard to stomach. His sons being forced to wear Mussolini uniforms was the last straw. But there was a second reason. The youngest son, Arthur, suffered from tuberculosis and moving to the mountains would improve his health. The fact that Nina, Jetta’s sister, was already living in Switzerland, brought Château-d’Oex even more into the picture.

Villa Les Clématites, the Escher house in Château-d’Oex

Villa Les Clématites, the Escher house in Château-d’Oex

This town is located to the east of Lake Geneva and is surrounded by mountains. The quiet and isolated Château-d’Oex differed from the hectic Rome in every way imaginable. Maurits and Jetta both had trouble dealing with the transition, but the children took to it immediately. Maurits focused on his work and, because of the isolation in Switzerland, made great progress. He also created work that was directly related to his new environment: a poster for the local chess club and one for an exposition he held with a painter he had befriended, John Paschoud. Yet the family moved again two years later, to the Belgian town of Ukkel.

Erik Kersten

Erik Kersten

Editor

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Invitation exhibition Martinus Liernur

Invitation exhibition Martinus Liernur

After their holidays with the Schiblers in Steckborn the Escher family travels to the Netherlands at the end of June 1931. Jette and the kids would stay until 1 September and Maurits until 18 September. He used these 3½ months to enhance and broaden his technique. He visited the artist Fokko Mees, who taught him the possibilities of end-grain engraving with a chisel. Escher bought a graver with a magnifier to create this very detailed work.
Summer 2017

Summer 2017

Summer! It's the longest day of the year. Escher in The Palace wishes everyone beautiful weeks with lots of sunshine and relaxation. Maurits Escher himself sets a good example. In June 1931 he was with his family in the Swiss town of Steckborn. Jetta's sister Nina and her husband Oskar Schibler lived there, at whose residence they used to spend their summer holidays. The Schibler house was located at the lake of Konstanz. On this page from his private photo albums we see Maurits and his sons in a canoe at the lake, enjoying the summer sun and the Swiss mountain air.
Father's day 2017

Father's day 2017

Father's day! Maurits Cornelis Escher was an artist but also a husband and father. From his marriage to Jetta three sons were born: George Arnold (23 July 1926), Arthur Eduard (8 December 1928) en Jan Christoffel (6 March 1938).