Highlight: M. C. Escher

Maurits C. Escher (1898-1972) was a graphic artist, whose creations were quite ahead of his time. He's best known for the illustrations in which patterns (tessellations) are repeated dozens of times, creating an striking effect akin to that of fractals.

He had a great interest in mathematics, which influenced his style. He was first drawn to it when travelling the Mediterranean in 1936, a trip that he described as being "the richest source of inspiration I have ever tapped."

From 1937 on, he started creating woodcuts using the concept of the 17 plane symmetry groups, developed by George Pólya. Most of his works are full of geometric distortions, and impossible objects, such as the Necker cube and the Penrose triangle.

Maurits C. Escher once defined his work by saying: "By keenly confronting the enigmas that surround us, and by considering and analysing the observations that I have made, I ended up in the domain of mathematics. Although I am absolutely without training in the exact sciences, I often seem to have more in common with mathematicians than with my fellow artists."

Another interesting quote of his is: "What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness. "

Here is a selection of three of Maurits C. Escher's works. For more information on him, visit Mcescher.com.

Source: Maurits C. Escher