Birth of Arthur Eduard Escher, 1928

On 8 December 1928 Arthur Eduard Escher was born, the second son of Maurits and Jetta. Arthur (named after Jetta’s father) was preceded by George in 1926 and followed by Jan in 1938. It was a complicated delivery and Jetta had to stay in hospital for several weeks. Just as he would do for Jan ten years later, Escher created a woodcut dedicated to the birth. He also made photos of the newborn and his brother.

Arthur was baptised by Father Constanza, who had done the same for George two years before*. Escher’s baptism photo shows Jetta’s mother cradling her grandson. In the background prints of Escher’s latest woodcut can be seen: The Drowned Cathedral .

That same month Escher created a woodcut depicting his son, using rather bold colours.

Source:
[*] Wim Hazeu, M.C. Escher, Een biografie, Meulenhoff, 1998, page 134-135