Predestination
1951
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 40.96 × 54.13 cm (16 1/8 × 21 5/16 in.) image: 29.37 × 42.07 cm (11 9/16 × 16 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection
Accession Number
1974.28.41
Art Historical Context
**Predestination** (1951) is a mesmerizing lithograph by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, for his mind-bending prints that blend mathematics, illusion, and philosophy. Created on a modest sheet of 40.96 × 54.13 cm, with the image itself measuring 29.37 × 42.07 cm, this work showcases lithography's precision—allowing Escher to achieve fine lines, subtle shading, and infinite depth from a single stone plate. Donated through the Cornelius Van S. Collection to the National Gallery Art, it reflects mid-20th-century fascination with visual paradoxes amid post-World War II introspection. At its core, *Pred...
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...