Sphere Spirals
1958
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut in gray, black, yellow and pink and red-brown, printed from four (five?) blocks
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection
Accession Number
1974.28.75
Art Historical Context
**Sphere Spirals** (1958) is a captivating woodcut by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, for his mind-bending prints that blend mathematics, geometry, and illusion. Printed from four (possibly five) blocks in gray, black, yellow pink, and red-brown this color woodcut exemplifies Escher's technical mastery during his later career. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection it showcases the precision of multi-block printing, where each block imprints a separate color layer, allowing for vibrant yet controlled complexity on paper. Escher, active from the early 20th cent...
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...