Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror

1950

M.C. Escher

Associated Names
M.C. Escher

Artist, Dutch, 1898 - 1972

This print shows the upper body of a person seated at a desk. The view is distorted with a fish-eye perspective and contained within a circle, giving the impression that it is reflected in a sphere. The person is facing forward, their hands resting on the table in front of them, one holding a pen poised over a sheet of paper. Their face has defined, linear features in a neutral expression, and their hair appears short and smooth. The person wears glasses and a simple long-sleeved shirt or sweater with a white collar. The room around them has round walls due to the fish-eye effect, with a window on the left that shows a tree and what might be a fence. There is a lamp hanging from the ceiling, and basic furniture on the right including a bookshelf and a desk. Below the print there is a signature on the beige paper.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection

  • Dimensions

    image (diameter): 8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.)
    sheet: 12.4 x 12.3 cm (4 7/8 x 4 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.109.77

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bool 1981, no. 368


Artwork history & notes

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.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite below image: M.C.Escher (underlined); center left in plate: MCE IV-50

Wikidata ID

Q74045449

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