Meet Escher Exploration

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Objective: Meet with Escher and his artwork.

M. C. Escher

To meet M. C. Escher, watch this brief video at the official Escher website.

  1. When did Escher live? How old was he in World War I? In World War II?
  2. Where did he live? What language did he speak?
  3. What does "M. C." stand for?
  4. Go to the Escher Artwork Gallery on this site and look over his work. Which ones do you recognize?


Escher was a graphic artist, and he printed most of his work. Most of his prints were either woodcuts or lithographs.

Smaller and Smaller is an example of a woodcut, and the page shows one of the wood blocks Escher carved to print it. Castrovalva is an example of a lithograph.

  1. Find a few more lithographs and a few more woodcuts in the Escher Artwork Gallery
  2. Describe the difference in the appearance between woodcut prints and lithography.
  3. For Smaller and Smaller, how many wood blocks did Escher need? What is the hole in the wood block for?


Look at the Escher Artwork Gallery and find at least one of each:

  1. Artwork with religious themes.
  2. Artwork which seems to be a dream or a fantasy.
  3. Artwork which gives a sense of infinity.
  4. Artwork with symmetry.
  5. Artwork with duality: two opposing ideas

Handin: A sheet with answers to all questions.