Art of M.C. Escher

Ascending and Descending (1960)

29 Nov, 2013 | From Madita of Netherlands

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 ~ 27 March 1972), usually referred to as M. C. Escher, is a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations.

Ascending and Descending is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher first printed in March 1960. The lithograph depicts a large building roofed by a never-ending staircase. Ascending and Descending was influenced by, and is an artistic implementation of, the Penrose stairs, an impossible object; Lionel Penrose had first published his concept in the February 1958 issue of the British Journal of Psychology. Escher developed the theme further in his print Waterfall, which appeared in 1961.