M.C. Escher: 29 Master Prints1983

Nearly everyone will have seen some of the work of Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1970). His woodcuts and lithographs are largely based in mathematics and geometry, and provide endless fascination. Many of the two dimensional images Escher created simply could not exist in the three dimensional world, yet on paper they LOOK entirely plausible at first glance (for instance, "Ascending and Descending" and "Belvedere"), and this alone gives the mind of the viewer plenty to ponder. Escher also incorporated tessellations - images composed of repeating, interlocking shapes - into many of his pieces (such as in "Reptiles" or "Fish"), and he played with the idea of having different figures in the same composition existing on different planes, despite sharing the same space. For instance, a surface which is the floor for one figure may be a wall for another (see "Relativity"). This particular book is a very nice collection of some of Escher's most well-known pieces, and is very affordable. There are certainly more detailed books on Escher's life and work available, such as J.L. Locker's 200-page "The Magic of M.C. Escher," but "29 Master Prints" is a great alternative for those who simply want something visually stimulating to put on their coffee table, without too much text. Each print covers a full page (and these are large pages - approximately 14.5 x 10.5 inches), and is accompanied by a small amount of text on the facing page, giving the piece's title, date of completion, medium, dimensions, and a short blurb offering insights about the print, written by either Escher himself or one of several other authors. The explanations written by the artist are often delightfully witty. At the beginning of the book there is a short essay by Escher, "On Being a Graphic Artist."