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Biography
Born:
1898-1972 Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
Description:
Maurits Cornelis Escher, world famous left-handed graphic artist. M.C. Escher and his unforgettable prints of impossible structures, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity, and his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, II and III are a few of the works that has earned Escher worldwide acclaim and the right to be known as the master of graphic art illusions.
M.C. Escher was born in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. His parents, George Arnold Escher and Sarah Gleichman Escher, had three sons of which Maurits (called Mauk for short) was the youngest. His father, George, was a civil engineer. The family moved to Arnhem when he was five and that is where Escher spent most of his youth. His health was on and off throughout his life. In 1918, like many geniuses, he failed his high school exams and had trouble relating to the multitude of subjects that a "so called" proper education throws at you. He did well in anything art related, however, and did receive encouragement from his art teachers. Escher began private lessons and studies in architecture at the Higher Technology School in Delft. He managed to get a deferment on military service in order to study, but poor health prevented him from keeping up with the curriculum. He was rejected by the military service in 1919, and as a result could not continue school. During this difficult period, Escher did many drawings, and also began using woodcuts as a medium. It was also at this time that his work began to receive favorable reviews in the media.
The first print by M.C. Escher that sold in large numbers was St. Francis (Preaching to the Birds), a woodcut that Escher claimed to have "worked on like a madman." He finished out the year doing some sign work and a few commissioned prints. In 1922, in search of fresh inspiration, he decided to go to Italy.
M.C. Escher met his wife, Jetta Umiker, in Italy and in 1924 they married. Together they settled in Rome, where they stayed for 11 years until 1935.
During the Second World War, he drew 62 of the total of 137 Regular Division Drawings he would make in his lifetime.
View Escher Interview Part 1
View Escher Interview Part 2
View Escher Interview Part 3
 MC_Escher_Biography.doc
Curriculum Vitae
2008 M.C. Escher - Gl. Holtegaard, Holte (solo)
2008 M.C. Escher: Rhythm of Illusion - Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI (solo)
2008 Approximately Infinite Universe - New Jerseyy, Basel
2008 To Infinity and Beyond: Mathematics in Contemporary Art - Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
2007 An Escher Block Party - The Katzen Arts Center at American University, Washington, DC (solo)
2007 M.C. Escher - Rhythm of Illusion - San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA (solo)
2006 Illusion und Wirklichkeit. M.C. Escher - Adolf Luther - Kunsthalle Krems, Krems
2003 Das Endlose Rätsel - Dali und die Magier der Mehrdeutigkeit - Stiftung Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf
2003 Maurits Escher (1889-1972) - The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (solo)
2002 M.C. Escher - Bunkamura, Tokyo (solo)
2002 Ik en de buitenwereld vlak bij huis - Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem - MMKA, Arnhem
2001 M.C. Escher - Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL (solo)
1998 M.C. Escher (1898-1972): A Celebration - National Gallery of Canada - Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, Ottawa, ON (solo)
1998 M.C. Escher - Kresge Art Museum, Lansing, MI (solo)
1998 M. C. Escher - Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem - MMKA, Arnhem (solo)
1992 Adam & Eve - Museum of Modern Art Saitama, Saitama
1984 Maurits C. Escher - Musee de Charlevoix , La Malbaie, QC (solo)
1968 Mickelson Gallery, Washington DC
1968 The Hague (Gemeentemuseum)
1934 Dutch Historical Institute in Rome
1926 'Gruppo Romano Incisori Artisti' Rome
1923 First one-man exhibition in Sienna, 'Circolo Artistico'.
Article(s)
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