Air, New Year's greeting-card 1954
1952
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut in green and brown, printed from two blocks, on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 13.2 x 13.2 cm (5 3/16 x 5 3/16 in.) sheet: 16.8 x 15.5 cm (6 5/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection
Accession Number
1983.109.39
Art Historical Context
M.C. Escher's *Air, New Year's greeting 1954* (1952) is a delightful example of the artist's mastery in printmaking, created as a personal New Year's card. Though dated 1952, it served as a greeting for 1954 reflecting Escher's tradition of crafting intricate, whimsical designs for friends and family during his later career in Switzerland. This small woodcut, measuring just 13.2 x 13.2 cm, embodies his fascination with precision and optical intrigue, hallmarks of his mathematical and impossible worlds. Printed from two blocks in subtle green and brown tones on wove paper, the work showcases E...
About the Artist
M.C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist renowned for his mathematically-inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints featuring impossible constructions, tessellations, and explorations of infinity. Though he considered himself lacking in mathematical ability, Escher's work demonstrates profound intuitive understanding of geometry, symmetry, and spatial paradox. A transform...