Caltavuturo in the Madonie Mountains, Sicily
1933
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 31.75 × 40.64 cm (12 1/2 × 16 in.) image: 22.86 × 30.8 cm (9 × 12 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Seymour and Iris Schwartz Collection
Accession Number
1978.90.18
Art Historical Context
M.C. Escher’s1933 lithograph *altavuturo in the Madonie Mountains, Sicily* captures a rugged hill town nestled amid dramatic peaks of northern Sicily. Created during Escher’s extended stay in Italy, the print reflects his deep fascination with the region’s layered architecture and dramatic terrain. At this stage in his career, Escher was still focused on observational landscape work rather than the mathematical illusions for which he later became renowned. The lithographic medium allowed Escher to render subtle gradations of light and shadow across stone buildings and rocky slopes, producing ...
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...