Fish and Scales
1959
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 45.88 × 44.45 cm (18 1/16 × 17 1/2 in.) image: 37.94 × 37.62 cm (14 15/16 × 14 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection
Accession Number
1982.90.6
Art Historical Context
M.C. Escher's *Fish and Scales* (1959) is a mesmerizing woodcut print that exemplifies the Dutch artist's lifelong fascination with mathematical precision and paradox. Created late in Escher's career, this work belongs to his renowned series of tessellations—intricate patterns where organic shapes interlock seamlessly without gaps or overlaps. Here, shimmering fish emerge from what appear to be overlapping scales, blurring the line between creature and pattern in a hypnotic metamorphosis. Printed on a sheet measuring nearly 46 x 44 cm, the woodcut medium highlights Escher's extraordinary tech...
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...