May 28, 2025

Amber Amin 

10th Grade

Thomas A. Edison High School

Art, an expression of the human mind that is admired throughout the whole world. Though, how could mathematics be implemented into the likes of something of this craft? This is where Maurits Cornelis Escher comes into the picture, an extremely influential graphic artist who incorporated tons of different geometric patterns and logic into his pieces. As a result of his countless inspections, he has given the viewer a true marvel to observe. Escher’s art allows the audience to really think about what they’re looking at, as he delves into different aspects of how exactly life is viewed. Whether that be using perspective, logic, and even paradoxes in his art, which we as humans may seem to be impossible.

Before his countless breaks in the artistic realm, Maurits Cornelis Escher was originally meant to pursue a career in architecture. Proving to be distasteful for him, he instead went down the road of graphic arts. Escher proved his worth in his field by various exhibitions that caught the eye of many. However, the question is still to be asked. Just what exactly was it that made this man an inspiration to the world?

Some examples of the types of artworks Escher would make and display to the world would be lithographs, sculptures, and a variety of other forms. In which he would dive deep into the usage of mathematics in his work, and how far he could go to make a piece that was as absurd as it was a spectacle to his viewer. For one, Escher incorporated ideas of topology, a branch of mathematics, into his artwork, where he attempted to bend the properties of a figure so as not to break it. This is demonstrated by his Mobiüs Strip II (Red Ants), 1963, where ants seem to be crawling in a loop, where in reality, they are only walking along one edge. The more one looks at it, the more they’ll be captivated by the quaintness of the piece.

Additionally, another way Escher would incorporate such unusualness into his works would be with the usage of geometric shapes. Geometry is an important tool to artists, but this one is especially. He would use various shapes, intersecting them and playing around with them as he wished, to create a mind-boggling view for the audience. With shapes, Escher would also delve into perspective. As seen in his Up and Down, 1947, he would create unworldly sights that are impossible to exist in reality by using different vanishing points to manipulate where the viewer is taking in the artwork.

To conclude, Maurits Cornelis Escher has made countless works throughout his life, and with them, he has also inspired many other aspiring artists using the branches of math. His contributions to both the mathematical and artistic worlds are grand in their respective ways. As he used both fields to create pieces unimaginable in the real world, yet they are filled with life and mystery in his work.