M. C. Escher

Bool 405

M.C. Escher is widely known for his prints depicting geometrical shapes and optical illusions. He also, however, had a great affinity for nature and for animals. Throughout the artist’s oeuvre, one can discover numerous animals, including snakes, insects, birds, and quite often fish.

Fascinated by the natural world, Escher re-visited the theme of water throughout his work. The artist, as he contemplated nature, one day realised that the by looking at a body of water, three worlds become visible. The spectator is not simply looking at the water’s surface, they can also see the reflections of the sky as well as the aquatic world. Escher demonstrated this visual effect when he made the Three Worlds lithograph in 1955, and the title explicitly refers to it. The trees represent life on land, the leaves represent the water’s surface, and the fish, consequently, represent life below sea level.

Another recurring motif in Escher’s oeuvre is the concept of the regular division of the plane in print. In the artist’s series of Metamorphosis prints, for example, Escher uses geometrical patterns and shapes that gradually transform over the print. In Three Worlds, the artist creates the same effect, but with natural shapes. In this instance, the artist uses his geometrical tricks in a widely recognisable, natural environment.

Although at first glance no optical illusion can be found in Three Worlds, nothing is what it seems in Escher’s work. Escher depicted the water, without actually rendering it, and still the spectator has no doubt about what they are seeing. This illusionistic feature is another interesting aspect of the print, which characterises the artist’s oeuvre.