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M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work
Presenting the structurally unthinkable as though it were a law of nature M.C. Escher was born in 1898 in Leeuwarden (Netherlands). He received his first drawing lessons during secondary school from F.W. van der Haagen, who also taught him the block printing, thus fostering Escher s innate graphic talents. From 1912 to 1922 he studied at the School of Architecture and Orna
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Paperback, 92 pages
Published
February 1st 2001
by Taschen
(first published 1956)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
Aug 30, 2008
Petra Eggs
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
art-photography-craft,
reviewed
Escher is enlightening, mind-bending and if the essence (not the stories) of the sci-fi genre of other worlds could be painted instead of written, it would look like this.
Like most high school and college students, I went through an Escher phase. Without the aid of psychotropic substances or any sort of interest in vaguely mathematical patterns, mind you, so it didn't last long, but still, it happened, and this was the book I bought as it was going on. And, you know, it's a reprinting of various Escher pieces. At the time, I'd have probably rated it 5 stars, but now, it gets an "I'm no longer quite so impressed, but still appreciate the artistry involved" 3 star
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"(T)here came a moment when it seemed as though scales fell from my eyes. I discovered that technical mastery was no longer my sole aim, for I became gripped by another desire, the existence of which I had never suspected. Ideas came into my mind quite unrelated to graphic art, notions which so fascinated me that I longed to communicate them to other people. This could not be achieved through words, for these thoughts were not literary ones, but mental images of a kind that can only be made comp
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This book contains art along with comments from the artist explaining what he was trying to accomplish and where he felt he did well and not so well. His words add a lot to the appreciation of the well known images. It's a fun book that would be great to get again to study and try recreating.
Amazing combination of draw, math, shadow and creativity.
love travelling thru his art! magical!
I love that small children are drawn to this!
This guy was a genious and every sketch is a challenge for your mind. Recommended to #analyse.
All the illustrations were from Escher's "impossible" drawings. He fascinates a viewer with his imagination and perspective
M.C. Escher's art has always fascinated me and this is a great collection of some of his most famous prints.
This book spoke to me so hard in college back in the 70s. But I gave it away after a while. Saw the Escher touring show last year(?) I think and bought a new copy! I still love MCE's combining of the hallucinogenic and the precise.
Portuguese / English
Genial. Esta palavra é usada muitas vezes sem razão de ser, mas neste caso aplica-se perfeitamente.
Escher foi um artista que misturava arte com matemática e os resultados são espantosos.
Se fosse só pelas gravuras, já teria ficado satisfeito. No entanto, a descrição que o artista faz de cada litografia, xilografia e outras é como se nos revelasse um código secreto. Ao invés de diminuir o efeito mágico dos desenhos, torna-os ainda mais espantosos (se tal é possível).
A filoso ...more
Genial. Esta palavra é usada muitas vezes sem razão de ser, mas neste caso aplica-se perfeitamente.
Escher foi um artista que misturava arte com matemática e os resultados são espantosos.
Se fosse só pelas gravuras, já teria ficado satisfeito. No entanto, a descrição que o artista faz de cada litografia, xilografia e outras é como se nos revelasse um código secreto. Ao invés de diminuir o efeito mágico dos desenhos, torna-os ainda mais espantosos (se tal é possível).
A filoso ...more
I'll start off by saying that I'm a sucker for Escher's art. He was a brilliant artist.
This is a very short book (a few hours worth of content, if you like to take your time and carefully examine each piece), showcasing some of Escher's famous works. Explanations in Escher's own words to each of his works is a nice and welcome touch, as well as the division of art by subject (Mirror Images, Inversion, Relativities etc). However, I did find the explanations segment placement a poor choice - it co ...more
This is a very short book (a few hours worth of content, if you like to take your time and carefully examine each piece), showcasing some of Escher's famous works. Explanations in Escher's own words to each of his works is a nice and welcome touch, as well as the division of art by subject (Mirror Images, Inversion, Relativities etc). However, I did find the explanations segment placement a poor choice - it co ...more
It's hard to talk about Escher's work intelligently because it has so thoroughly entered modern culture, without succumbing to the occasionally offensive repurposing of the works of Warhol, Kahlo, etc. It quite wonderfully fits into the 'What is there to be said that hasn't already' category. I got this after seeing an Escher retrospective at the Portland Art Museum, and this is a solid volume that is a great introduction to his work. It wonderfully captures Escher's mix of the artistic and the
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No one depicts the impossible, improbable, and infinitesimal the way M.C. Escher does. He is work is essential to explore our minds and the universe. It is rare to find an artist try to capture the essence of philosophical, scientific, and fantastical thoughts in every piece.
Each line, each element, each color, has a purpose to the whole. His works blows my mind no matter how many times I spend staring at them; superbly the most brilliant artists.
Definitely start off with this book, whether yo ...more
Each line, each element, each color, has a purpose to the whole. His works blows my mind no matter how many times I spend staring at them; superbly the most brilliant artists.
Definitely start off with this book, whether yo ...more
M.C. Escher ถือไดวาเปนอัจฉริยะดานภาพวาดเชิงคณิตศาสตรและความเปนไปไมได เชนภาพวาดนำตกทีไหลในไมรูจบ
เอางายๆ วาถาโลกนีไมมีเคา ตอนนีเราคงไมมีหนังทีทำกราฟิกเชิงนามธรรมอยาง inception, dr. strange หรือเกมสุดประหลาดอยาง fez, monument valley
ในเลมมีภาพวาดเจงๆ เกือบทังหมดใหดูอยางไมรูเบือ พรอมคำอธิบายและวิเคราะหสันๆ ประจำรูป แตไมมีชีวประวัติใหอานนะ ...more
เอางายๆ วาถาโลกนีไมมีเคา ตอนนีเราคงไมมีหนังทีทำกราฟิกเชิงนามธรรมอยาง inception, dr. strange หรือเกมสุดประหลาดอยาง fez, monument valley
ในเลมมีภาพวาดเจงๆ เกือบทังหมดใหดูอยางไมรูเบือ พรอมคำอธิบายและวิเคราะหสันๆ ประจำรูป แตไมมีชีวประวัติใหอานนะ ...more
Un'interessante esposizione delle opere di Escher commentate dallo stesso autore.
Nota negativa: quel gran genio dell'impaginatore ha posto le descrizioni di tutte le immagini all'inizio (e questo può andar bene), ma le pagine contenenti le immagini stesse non sono in alcun modo numerate, quindi è impossibile raggiungere da una descrizione la relativa immagine o viceversa se non andando a naso. Lo stesso vale per l'indice posto all'inizio del libro. Sono forse io poco avvezzo a libri di tale tipo ...more
Nota negativa: quel gran genio dell'impaginatore ha posto le descrizioni di tutte le immagini all'inizio (e questo può andar bene), ma le pagine contenenti le immagini stesse non sono in alcun modo numerate, quindi è impossibile raggiungere da una descrizione la relativa immagine o viceversa se non andando a naso. Lo stesso vale per l'indice posto all'inizio del libro. Sono forse io poco avvezzo a libri di tale tipo ...more
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Reading Escher's commentary on his own work is enlightening and entertaining. His dry wit is a delight. Not a delight is the lack of initiative on the part of any publisher since the original 1967 printing (looking at you, Taschen and B&N) to move his comments to the same pages as the works instead of keeping them in a section at the front for the reader to flip back to from the plates at the end. It's also somewhat on the shorter side, so I'd recommend any Escher fan to read it as a supplem
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Great book to add to our collection, has a comprehensive portfolio of all of Escher's works. However, even though the book is in color, some of the paintings that are originally not black-and-white are shown as such. I had the pleasure of seeing some of his work on display, but was disappointed to find that my favourite painting was not shown in its vibrant colors in the book. I don't know why, since many of his other works of color are shown in their original form. Overall, not a bad purchase.
One of the books I keep on my desk for over twenty years, to inspire, and connect with an individual perception, reminding me the world is just that: an individual perception that leading to realization for tolerance and patience and compassion for other's who may perceive the same in a different way, however that will not change for what is there. With all that said, this book may lead to revolutionary social changes worldwide; making our world better for all.
"Temel bilimler alanında bir eğitimden ve her türlü bilgiden yoksun olsam da çoğu zaman matematikçilerle aramda, sanatçı dostlarımdan daha fazla ortak nokta buluyorum" diyor Escher. En azından C64 veya Amiga zamanına yetseydi ömrü, nasıl eserler çıkarırdı acaba.
Çalışmaların açıklamalarıyla birlikte güzel bir seçki olmuş. Daha detaylı ve kaliteli bir baskı ihtiyacını ortadan kaldırmıyor ama el altında olması faydalı.
Çalışmaların açıklamalarıyla birlikte güzel bir seçki olmuş. Daha detaylı ve kaliteli bir baskı ihtiyacını ortadan kaldırmıyor ama el altında olması faydalı.
These are no ordinary paintings by an ordinary artist. They bend the rules or reality, and you have to regard them as puzzles to be solved. Twist your mind around them to see what they are and how they do it for full effect.
There are several different types, combinations of abstract mathematical, mosaic patterns and pure fantasy, all united by the dreamy unreal logic.
A real joy to the open mind.
There are several different types, combinations of abstract mathematical, mosaic patterns and pure fantasy, all united by the dreamy unreal logic.
A real joy to the open mind.
A very nice book, the introduction by the artist is very informative. There's also a nice explanation for each work included in the book.
The main reason for possessing this book is of course the prints of Escher's works. They're printed on very good paper and the printing has come out really well. Escher's works are insanely brilliant. My favourites are the impossible buildings, "Reptiles", "Drawing Hands" and "Hand with globe."
The main reason for possessing this book is of course the prints of Escher's works. They're printed on very good paper and the printing has come out really well. Escher's works are insanely brilliant. My favourites are the impossible buildings, "Reptiles", "Drawing Hands" and "Hand with globe."
Jul 06, 2010
Tanya Diehl
added it
I loved this book. Art in general doesn't really interest me unless it is obvious. I can appreciate a beautifully painted picture of a meadow, but I don't get abstract or art like that. This book is a mixture of the obvious, abstract, the absurd, and illusions. Teens would be interested in the drama of the artwork. There is so much to look at in every drawing. I think it might even inspire a teen to research more from this artist and other artists like him.
This is a selection of 76 works of Escher, with an introduction and a paragraph explaining each work, by Escher himself. It is smaller than the book by Forty but still oversized (30 cm.); about 40 of the works are the same in the two books. Escher's explanations occasionally pointed out things I had missed in the works.
Escher says in this book that he sometimes feels closer to mathematicians than to his artist fellows. Escher's work is pure creation: unstable perspectives, plane figures coming out to the three dimensional world, paradoxes... It's not at everyone's reach to play with your mind while making you enjoy.
This book collects various pieces of M.C. Escher from various periods throughout his career. A nice touch is that Escher himself writes a short paragraph about each work. For those who are familiar with the mind bending artwork of Escher, this collection will be welcome. For those who are unfamiliar with his works, this is a good introduction.
I was an avid fan of Escher in the 1970s and 1980s when I read this book and collected prints and items with his designs on them. This is a good story about Escher and how he came to create his unique optical illusion art, but more importantly, how he changed the art world with his wonderful designs.
Unlike most people whose attraction to Escher's work comes from the magic of the 3-D effects and visual illusions, my reverence for him comes from his pure mastery of his craft. As a printmaker myself, I know how hard it is to get precision and details in, say, a wood carving, let alone create such fine lines and details that even some eyes might miss. Simple amazing.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: cover available for M.C.Escher | 5 | 23 | Nov 30, 2016 02:42AM | |
| graphic designing | 2 | 8 | Dec 15, 2014 02:28AM | |
| drawing by: Brooke M: drawing | 9 | 9 | Apr 18, 2013 01:57PM |
Maurits Cornelis Escher, usually referred to as M.C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture and tessellations.
Maurits Cornelis, or "Mauk" as he came to be nicknamed, was was the youngest son of civil engineer George Arnold Escher and hi ...more
More about M.C. Escher...
Maurits Cornelis, or "Mauk" as he came to be nicknamed, was was the youngest son of civil engineer George Arnold Escher and hi ...more
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“«It is impossible for the inhabitants of different worlds to walk or sit or stand on the same floor, because they have differing conceptions of what is horizontal and what is vertical. Yet they may well share the use of the same staircase. On the top staircase illustrated here, two people are moving side by side and in the same direction, and yet one of them is going downstairs and the other upstairs. Contact between them is out of the question because they live in different worlds and therefore can have no knowledge of each other's existence.»”
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