
M.C. Escher (1898-1972, full name: Maurits Cornelius Escher) was a Dutch graphical artist whose art is known for being both mathematical in nature and brain-bending. Some common elements in his prints include:
- Structures or situations in which each individual element is plausible, but which become impossible when taken as a whole.
- Tessellations
that is, patterns which could extend over the entire plane if repeated indefinitely.
Many works will reference some of these constructions he invented or popularized some common choices are Relativity, a room with various staircases and landings using different directions of gravity, Drawing Hands
, in which two hands are each drawing the other into existence, and Ascending and Descending
, a staircase which goes up or down forever (based on the Penrose Stairway
).
(Escher also happens to be a close contemporary of René Magritte, whose works also mess with the viewers' heads, though not in the same way.)
Contrary to the name, he was not, in fact, a rapper (though he is "Weird Al" Yankovic's favorite MC).
Often works through Perspective Magic. A lot of Alien Geometries are based on his work. For more information on his techniques, see Graphical Perspective.