Gradually, you will be able to focus more on the content. If you watch the video several times, your initial amazement at Escher’s technical prowess will slowly ebb away. That is why it is important that people who are unable to visit The Hague in person to see this series, view the video clip of Metamorphosis III. “a playful, childlike toying with imagery and thought associations, which more or less randomly followed on from each other without any attempt at profundity.” The evolution from Metamorphosis II to Metamorphosis III involves more than just changes in appearance and shape. He did not believe in creating rigid or inflexible transitions. Escher, Metamorphosis III, woodcut in black, green and reddish brown, printed from thirty-three blocks on six combined sheets, mounted on canvas, partly coloured by hand, 1967-1968 In fact, you can’t wish for anything more pleasing. If, like Escher, you choose to depict abstract notions such as eternity and perpetuity, tessellated/tiling patterns are the ideal way to achieve this. This explains why these wonderful shapes are sometimes referred to as ’tiles’. Tessellations are patterns of identical shapes that seamlessly interlock and can be repeated endlessly. The realistic depiction of the Italian town of Atrani gradually and relatively ‘simplistically’ morphs into a figure. In Metamorphosis I, Escher discovered a new concept: this is the first work in which he uses the tessellation technique to transform one image into another in a seemingly random fashion. Only then can you truly comprehend what went on inside Escher’s head. Visitors could easily dedicate a few hours just to this series alone. Seeing these three works alongside each other enhances our understanding of Escher’s development. I’m curious to see whether it’ll turn out as I can visualize it now, vaguely, in my mind’s eye.”īy staging a permanent exhibition, we are able to show visitors how Escher’s thinking evolved over the decades. “It’s perfectly possible, but it’s quite a job. Or, as Escher wrote to his son: I feel compelled to ‘add new metamorphoses, or transitional stages.’ He hopes it will be a successful venture: The 4 meter long Metamorphosis II was extended by 115 inches in June 1967 and in the first months of 1968. Metamorphosis III is based on Metamorphosis II. The man’s account of his childhood was partly the reason for us mounting the 48 meter long Metamorphosis III in a round frame as part of our exhibition. If my memory serves me correctly, the man and his brothers loved nothing more than endlessly rotating Metamorphosis II. The work featured a handle, which was used to turn the spectacle along the window. He thought Escher had constructed a cupboard with an open ‘window’. I once met a man who told me that, as a little boy, he was given a model of Metamorphosis II to play with. The most striking difference between Metamorphoses I and II, however, is that beginning and ending are the same in the latter. Atrani once again features prominently, but instead of being at the beginning of a series of transitions, the little town is now virtually at the end. Escher, Metamorphosis II, woodcut in black, green and brown, printed from twenty blocks, on three combined sheets, November 1939 – March 1940
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