Relativity

1953

M.C. Escher

Artist, Dutch, 1898 - 1972

Printed with black lines and shading on cream-colored paper, we look down onto three, interconnected staircases in a triangle that shifts constantly to create an optical illusion in this square lithograph. Nine faceless people walk up and down the staircases toward landings that are positioned at different angles. The bodies of the people are generalized, and some carry baskets, sacks, trays, or are empty-handed. There are arched doorways and openings on each landing and between some of the landings. Some doors are closed or ajar, and other arches open onto outdoor scenes with trees. Two people sit at a food-laden table through a wide opening, sideways, to our right. As our eye follows the progress of each individual person, we are constantly interrupted by a staircase, landing, door, or other person that disorients our sense of space. The blocky, conjoined letters “MCE” appear in the space of the image at the upper left corner. Below it, in white against the dark background, it reads, "VII-'53." A pencil inscriptions in the margin beneath the lower left corner of the printed image reads, "MCEscher No 18/50 II."
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph

  • Credit Line

    Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 28 x 29.1 cm (11 x 11 7/16 in.)
    sheet: 39.1 x 40.6 cm (15 3/8 x 16 in.)

  • Accession

    1974.28.51

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bool 1981, no. 389

  • Copyright

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


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1975

  • "By Design: Curious Deceptions in Art and Play", Xerox Square Exhibit Center, 1975.

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.

Wikidata ID

Q65574317


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