M.C Escher and Geometry

By Jasmine Hollerway, Sky Kalfus, and Stephan TK

A little background information…

• M.C. Esher was born in the Netherlands in 1898

• dropped out of the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts

• decided to become an artist• spent much of his life traveling

though Italy, which became the inspiration for much of his work

Parts, Shapes, and Relationships

• Tessellations– Started with basic shapes (triangle, square,

hexagon)– Altered them to take the form of animals– Each change had to be compensated

For Example…

For Example…

For Example…

Parts, Shapes, and Relationships

• Metamorphosis Images

– Start with two-dimensional tessellation– Shift to three dimensions and back– Number of visible planes increases and decreases

Parts, Shapes, and Relationships

• Strange Loop images

Parts, Shapes, and Relationships

• Strange Loop images– Appear to be elevated– Actually on the same plane– Physically impossible structures

Tools and Methods

• Used basic geometric shapes in his artwork

• Repetition• Symmetry

Size and Quantity• For a presentation the tessellations would

have had to be a manageable size but it really could have gone on infinitely in size.

• The metamorphosis images- long and thin, to be read from left to right.

Why this is important?

• Escher’s work shows how art can be enhanced by math, and vice versa

• Brings depth to mathematics• Helps us understand geometry