Square Limit
1964
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut in red and gray-green, printed from two blocks
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection
Accession Number
1982.90.14
Art Historical Context
**Square Limit** (1964) is a mesmerizing woodcut by Dutch artist M.C. Escher, printed from two blocks in vivid red and gray-green tones Housed in the National Gallery Art's Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt Collection, this print Escher's lifelong fascination with mathematical precision and paradoxes. Created late in his career, it captures the post-war's growing interest in science-art intersections, where Escher bridged Renaissance traditions of printmaking with modern geometry. At its heart, *Square Limit* depicts an infinite progression of lizards interlocking in a hypnotic tessellation, confine...
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...