Hand with Reflecting Sphere

1935

M.C. Escher

Artist, Dutch, 1898 - 1972

In tones of gray and black printed on tan-colored paper, this vertical lithograph shows a hand holding up a metallic sphere, which reflects the hand and body of the bearded man holding it, as well as the room behind the man. The background behind the hand and orb lightens from black along the bottom edge to light gray across the top. Wrinkles cross the wrist, and the lines of the hand are clearly visible. In the reflection, which is distorted along the contour of the mirrored ball, the man’s hair is brushed back from his high forehead, and he looks at us, or at his reflection, with large eyes. His thick mustache and beard are neatly trimmed. He wears a suit with a vest over a tie and button-down shirt. His left fist rests on his left thigh, and he holds up the orb with his other hand. In the room behind him, to our right, an alcove with windows on two sides has two upholstered armchairs, a few side tables, and a lamp sitting on a sideboard. The man sits in a chair with wooden arms, next to a form that could be a reclining couch with a pillow. A shelf hangs on the wall behind the man, and pictures hang above and below the single row of books. The print has a grainy, speckled look, as if drawn with charcoal on textured paper. The print is signed in the lower left corner, under the printed image: “MC Escher no 13/30.” In the lower right corner, a number, “1-35” and the conjoined block letters “MCE” appear in white against the dark background.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 31.7 x 21.3 cm (12 1/2 x 8 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 42.7 x 31.7 cm (16 13/16 x 12 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1964.8.743

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bool 1981, no. 268

  • Copyright

    All M.C. Escher works © Cordon Art-Baarn-the Netherlands. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1965

  • Drolleries and Demons: Six Centuries of 'Fantastic' Prints, IBM Gallery, New York, NY, 1965, no. 60 (as "Handmade Reflecting Sphere").

1971

  • "The Graphic Work of M. C. Escher", Craig Gallery, Princeton University, 1971.

1972

  • "Prints by M. C. Escher", National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1972.

1997

  • M.C. Escher: A Centennial Tribute, National Gallery of Art, Washington; San Diego Museum of Art; The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 1997-1999.

2000

  • "M.C. Escher", Knoxville Museum of Art, 2000.

Bibliography

1981

  • Bool, F.H. et al. M.C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1981; English-language edition, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1982.

1992

  • "Artists," Arts & Activities (November 1992), 27.

2000

  • Neimeyer, Robert A. and Jonathan D. Raskin, eds. Constructions of Disorder. Washington, D.C., 2000: cover illustration.

Wikidata ID

Q65511127


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