Relativity M C Escher 5i491c

Relativity M.C Escher I have analysed and interpreted the lithograph Relativity by the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher. When I look at this picture, I see a weird and surrealistic combination of figures and stairs in different perspectives and gravities. My first impression is that this picture looks bizarre. However, it also gives a feeling of structure. It is strange due to the different perspectives. I think it is cool. There are eleven different stairways. I can see sixteen human-like figures without faces. Furthermore there are four openings in the walls showing a garden behind them. I can see a door as well. There are balustrades besides all the stairs. Light is coming from the openings, giving a peaceful feeling. However, at the same time there are a lot of shadows and two dark door openings; this creates a dark feeling. The peaceful and dark feelings combined create a yin-yang contrast. It seems like the general material which is used for the building is stone. I get the feeling the setting takes place in the middle ages. My attention is grabbed by all the stairs and the centre of the piece. The figure carrying a bag and the figure sitting on a rectangle grab my attention. The lithograph exists of straight lines and mostly cubic or round shapes. If you look at the lithograph closely, you can see it is created of narrow lines, producing a difference between light and dark. The higher the density of the lines, the darker the spots get. Escher made the lithograph in different shades of grey (white, black, light grey, dark grey etc.). The shades of grey give a mysterious effect because the contrast creates depth. The lines drawn all have their own horizon which create different perspectives. Most of the shapes are geometric, for example, the round bows above the openings and the squared stairways. In addition, there are also organic shapes, namely the figures and the plants. The title can be explained by observing the different perspectives and gravities. Since in short, relativity explains the law of gravitation. There is symbolism present in the lithograph because Escher did not give the figures individual identities. Perhaps he did not want to distract us from the main idea of the painting. Maybe, from a certain perspective, people are interchangeable. Escher used three point perspective for Relativity, each being perpendicular to the two others. Each inhabitant lives in one of the gravity wells, where normal physical laws apply. The sixteen characters are spread between each gravity source,

six in one and five each in the other two. The apparent confusion of the lithograph print comes from the fact that the three gravity sources are depicted in the same space. The use of the three perspective points are there to make the lithograph surrealistic like almost all art pieces of Escher. I think Escher’s goal was to make an unique, surrealistic and confusing artwork, which I think he succeeded. Furthermore he might have wanted to show the people we are living in all small worlds of our own, without interfering with each other. The figures all have their own perspectives, using the same stairways in a different way. This can be related to real life because each person has his or her own frame of reference. The original piece of art was a lithograph. A lithograph is a kind of painting drawn with oil, fat or wax on a limestone plate. This lithograph was first printed in 1953. Maurits Cornelis Escher was born in Leeuwarden on the 17th of June 1898. Maurits died in Hilversum on the 27th of May 1972. He was a Dutch artist, who was known for his wood carving, wood engravings and lithographs, in which he played with mathematical principles. Maurits often made surrealistic artworks. He used impossible constructions, infinity studies, matching geometric patterns and different dimensions several times. After 1960, Escher's graphic work is used in scientific (learning) books. To Escher's astonishment, hippies and pop stars appreciated his work because of the fantasy parallel worlds. My conclusion, I have not changed my mind, I thought at first that the Relativity was cool, but strange at the same time. I really like the way how he played with different dimensions in a surrealistic way. I will think of this masterpiece more often, use his artworks for more projects and I am going to show it to my friends. We got our own book of his artworks, which I have used as a source. Sources: Wikipedia A booklet M.C. Escher grafiek en tekeningen http://www.scottmcd.net/artanalysis/?p=548

Stefan de Reijer 4ve