M.C. Escher's Two Worlds: Italian Landscapes and Impossible Prints

M.C. Escher (1898–1972) was a Dutch printmaker. Most people know him for impossible staircases and birds that turn into fish, but his work falls into two very different worlds, and both make striking posters.

Italy: villages, coasts and cloisters

From 1923 to 1935 Escher lived in Rome and spent his springs travelling through southern Italy, Sicily and Corsica with a sketchbook. Back home he turned the drawings into detailed black-and-white prints of hill towns and coastlines, such as Coast of Amalfi, Covered Alley in Atrani, Cloister of Monreale, Sicily and Citadel of Calvi, Corsica. Even here you can see his love of steep angles and unusual viewpoints.

The Alhambra and tessellations

Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, in 1922 and again in 1936, and studied its Moorish tile patterns. After that he began filling surfaces completely with interlocking shapes of animals. Dolphins and Circle Limit I, where fish shrink towards the edge of a circle, come from this side of his work.

Impossible worlds

From the late 1940s Escher played with perspective and logic. Drawing Hands (1948) shows two hands drawing each other into existence. Cubic Space Division, Concentric Rinds, Contrast (Order and Chaos) and Cube with Magic Ribbons turn geometry into puzzles you keep looking at.

Which Escher poster to choose

• Study, office or library: the impossible and geometric prints.
• Hallway or travel-lover's home: the Italian and Corsican landscapes.
• Kids' room or playroom: the animal tessellations.

Escher's prints are black and white or a few colours, so they suit almost any room and look great in a simple black frame. All posters are made to order in 45×60 cm and 75×100 cm with free shipping. See all M.C. Escher posters.