The Life and Works of M. C. Escher (Metamorphose: MC Escher, 1898-1972)

Video:

Metamorphose

(in english)
"The Life and Works of M. C. Escher" (Genios de la Pintura: M. C. Escher)

(in spanish)

«"The Life and Works of M.C. Escher" (Jan Dosdriesz/Wim Hazeu, Acorn Media, 1998, 60 min). This video was originally released as "Metamorphose: MC Escher, 1898-1972" (produced by Cinemedia in cooperation with NPS and Radio Netherlands television).» [Amazon.com]

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The Life and Works of M. C. Escher:

«The Life and Works of M.C. Escher traces the artist from his childhood days in the Netherlands, to his stints in southern Italy and Switzerland and his return to his homeland, where he produced some of his most intriguing works. The Dutch artist's unique perspectives and intricate, enigmatic designs brought him enduring fame. But success came at a cost to his family life. The film portrays Escher's obsession with his art and the sacrifices he made for the sake of his accomplishments. Footage of Escher's works, film clips taken at Escher's favorite haunts, and interviews with the artist himself, blend to create an insightful look at one of the most fascinating artists of the past century. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide»

See also, from this movie:
Escher and the Alhambra (in english)

MC ESCHER brano da "metamorphose" (1/2)
MC ESCHER brano da "metamorphose" (2/2)

(in italian)

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (16 June 1868, Amsterdam - 11 February 1944 (?), Auschwitz) and M. C. Escher

«These days, Jessurun de Mesquita (1868-1944) is known principally for his association with one of his pupils, M.C. Escher. He is also well-known in the Netherlands for his crisp woodcuts of animals in Amsterdam’s Artis zoo. But De Mesquita’s surviving oeuvre is far more varied and innovative than is generally assumed. This first major retrospective in twenty years illustrates the point with drawings, water colours, woodcuts, etchings, paintings and examples of the applied arts.
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita grew up in the closed world of Amsterdam’s Portuguese(*) Jewish community. He trained at the city’s school of applied arts and state teachers’ training college.»

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita on gemeentemuseum.nl
(*) Father: Josua Jessurun de Mesquita. Mother: Judith Mendes da Costa

«With Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands in May, 1940, de Mesquita, already in poor health, was forced to lead a secluded life, limiting his work largely to sketches. In the winter of 1944, on either January 31 or February 1, the occupying German forces entered the home of the de Mesquita family in Watergraafsmeer, now part of Amsterdam, and apprehended him, his wife Elisabeth, and their only son Jaap. Transported to Auschwitz, Samuel Jessurun and Elisabeth were sent to the gas chambers within days of their arrival on February 11; Jaap perished in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt on March 20. Escher and some of Jaap’s friends were successful in rescuing some of the works that had remained in the de Mesquita home.» Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (Wikipedia)

«Still trying to pursue a career in architecture, M.C. Escher next moved to Haarlem and began studies as the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts. After on a week in the city, he met the artist Jessurun de Mesquita. After seeing Escher's drawings, Mesquita and the school's director advised him to continue with them. He began full-time study of "the graphic and decorative arts" in the fall of 1919. Also at this time, he acquired a white cat as a present from his land-lady. (...) The Nazi persecution of the Jews touched Escher in a very personal way. His old teacher, Samuel de Mesquita, a Jew, was taken away by the Nazis in January of 1944, and was killed. Escher helped to transfer Mesquita's works at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. He kept for himself a sketch that bore the imprint of a German boot, and kept it with his drawing supplies for the rest of his life. In 1946, he organized a memorial showing for Mesquita at the Stedelijk. Immediately after the war ended, Escher participated in a show of works by artists who had refused to collaborate with the Nazi regime. Afterwards, he earned several new commissions, including one to make 400 copies of one of his prints for distribution to schools.»

«In September 1920 Maurits moved to Haarlem in a final attempt to try follow his father's wish that he study architecture and he enrolled at the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts. A chance meeting with Samuel Jesserum de Mesquita, a graphic arts teacher, proved a landmark event in Escher's life and he became convinced that a graphic arts programme would be better suited to his skills. De Mesquita taught the eager Escher all he knew of woodcut printing techniques, gave him space to experiment, and encouraged him to experiment widely in order to develop his skills.»
Maurits Cornelius Escher

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Listen Escher about the influence that Mesquita had in his change from architecture to graphic art: Interview part 2 (listen also: Interview part 1 Interview part 3)

Interviews from The Official M.C. Escher Website

The Fantastic World of M. C. Escher

The Fantastic World of MC Escher - Part 1/5
The Fantastic World of MC Escher - Part 2/5
The Fantastic World of MC Escher - Part 3/5
The Fantastic World of MC Escher - Part 4/5
The Fantastic World of MC Escher - Part 5/5
(A film by Michele Emmer, with music by Ennio Morricone)

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IMDb: The Fantastic World of M.C. Escher (1980)
The Fantastic World of M.C. Escher

M. C. Escher: "Snakes", 1969

Image from the Gallery of The Official M.C. Escher Website

See also Snakes (M. C. Escher) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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MC Escher printing "Snakes"

«Rare video of the great late M. C. Escher doing what would be his last ever print shortly before his death: Snakes.»
Snakes

«A CG movie based on a woodcut by M. C. Escher, by Cristóbal Vila. Go to http://www.etereaestudios.com/ for more info.»
Snakes The movie

A Matemática de M. C. Escher (em Oeiras)

Moebius Strip II 1963 woodcut in red, black and grey-green, printed from 3 blocks

Image from the Gallery of The Official M.C. Escher Website

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Exposição: Reproduções de M. C. Escher no Taguspark para mostrar "beleza da matemática"
Exposição «A Matemática de M. C. Escher - Taguspark
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Escher em Évora, até 13 de Fevereiro

Matemática e Arte no Fórum Eugénio de Almeida em Évora

Tower of Babel 1928 woodcut

Day and Night 1938 woodcut in black and grey, printed from 2 blocks

Drawing Hands 1948 Lithograph

Images from the Gallery of The Official M.C. Escher Website

Matemática e Arte no Fórum Eugénio de Almeida

Exposição inédita de obras de M.C. Escher

A Fundação Eugénio de Almeida (FEA) expõe “A magia de M.C. Escher”, uma mostra que reúne cerca de 50 trabalhos do artista holandês que brincava com a arquitectura, a perspectiva e os espaços impossíveis, naquela que é a primeira mostra de trabalhos de M.C. Escher em Portugal.
Famoso pelas estruturas impossíveis, representadas no famoso quadro Relativity onde escadas sobem e descem em todas as direcções, e por desafiar as leis da perspectiva através da exploração do espaço tridimensional, a obra de M.C. Escher traduz uma observação afiada do mundo e a expressão da sua própria fantasia.
Tower of Babel, Day and Night e Drawing Hands são algumas das obras que estarão patentes no Fórum Eugénio de Almeida até 30 de Janeiro de 2011.

Horário: 09h30 às 19h00
Local: Fórum Eugénio de Almeida

Rua Vasco da Gama, 13, Évora
Informações: 266 748 350
Preço: 1€

[Esta é a informação oficial sobre a exposição]

Sítio da Fundação Eugénio de Almeida

A Magia de M. C. Escher em Évora

A Magia de M. C. Escher

De 8 de Outubro de 2010 a 23 de Janeiro de 2011

Horário: 9h30-19h

Localização: Fórum Eugénio de Almeida Rua Vasco da Gama, 13 Évora

Informações: 266 748 350

Email: servicoeducativo@fea.pt

Site: http://www.fundacaoeugeniodealmeida.pt/

Organização: Fundação Eugénio de Almeida

Informações na imprensa:
Évora: Obras de M.C. Escher exibidas pela primeira vez em Portugal
A Magia de M.C Escher Agenda U-Plasma Évora
Obras de M.C. Escher pela primeira vez em Portugal - Renascença

A arte matemática de M. C. Escher

M.C. Escher Self-Portrait 1929 Lithograph
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Video, here:
The Mathematical Art Of M. C. Escher

or here:

Matemática de M. C. Escher
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Biography of M.C. Escher

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Interview part 1 Interview part 2 Interview part 3

Inauguração da exposição "A Matemática de M. C. Escher"

Venha à inauguração da exposição "A Matemática de M. C. Escher", dia 10 de Fevereiro, às 18h, no átrio do edifício C3.

O C-infinito convida-o para a inauguração da exposição "A Matemática de M. C. Escher", Quinta-feira, 10 de Fevereiro de 2011, 18h00, Átrio do edifício C3, FCUL.

A não perder, logo a seguir, a palestra do ciclo Matemática Sem Limites: Frisos, padrões e carimbos: a magia da simetria, por M. Arala Chaves, 18h30, anfiteatro 3.2.14.

De 11 a 28 de Fevereiro, a exposição estará patente no átrio do edifício C6.

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[Copiado de Inauguração da exposição "A Matemática de M. C. Escher"]

Eye (M. C. Escher)

Eye 1946, Mezzotint, 7th and final stage

Image from the Gallery of The Official M.C. Escher Website
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M.C. Escher at work
Watch and listen to M.C. Escher while he is making the "Eye" mezzotint:
Mezzotint

One night they were all taken away... such sweet people, carried away like cattle...

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868-1944)

Self-portrait with walking stick, hat and cigar, 1935

The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita: drawings and prints (Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita: Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik)

«In 1968, the Dutch journalist Bibeb interviewed Escher at length, and his vivid recollection of those events can be felt in his response to her final question, "Were you able to work during the occupation?" Escher replied:
Yes. By then I was living here [in Baarn]. My most important ideas were worked out best during the war. I still have the greatest difficulty with the Krauts. ... I was not involved with the Resistance, but I had many Jewish friends who were killed. My old teacher, de Mesquita. He did not want to go into hiding. They were Portuguese Jews and the Krauts had always allowed that they belonged to the elite. One night they were all taken away. His son, Jaap, a clever boy, had worked day and night. . . . He had often gone to see the Krauts in order to talk with them about his ancestors. They were not noble, but almost. . . . One bad day they were all gone. In 1944, during the famine winter, I wanted to bring them something, apples. ... I walked to their house. The windows on the first floor were broken. The neighbors said: "You hadn't heard? The de Mesquitas have been taken away."
This (a drawing) lay on the floor with the impressions of the cleats from the Krauts' boots. It was lying under the staircase. And in his studio everything was a mess, everything on the floor. I took home two hundred prints. . . . No matter what you do, you cannot forget such things. I cannot. . . . Taken away in the middle of the night. And he could have been saved. I tried so hard to convince him. No he was protected, he said. Why should he hide? Afterwards I blamed myself. But they did not wish to. Jaap in his talks with the Krauts had produced all sorts of genealogical registers. They were half noble. The Krauts found that impressive. They almost never left their home. Really terrible, you know, such sweet people, carried away like cattle to be butchered.
... I owe him a great deal. He was my graphics teacher. . . . He saw something in my woodcuts. He insisted that I go on with them. If he had not talked with my parents, I would have gone on into architecture. And I never really wanted to build houses. Only madhouses.»

From the book

M. C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (Doris Schattschneider)
(interview from the book De Mens Is een Ramp voor de Wereld. Bibeb, "M. C Escher: Ik vind wat ik zelf maak het mooiste en ook het lelijkste" ("What I myself make seems to me the most beautiful and the most ugly"). In De mens is een ramp voor de wereld (People are a Disaster for the World), 68-84. Amsterdam: Van Gennep, 1969. Originally published in Vrij Nederland, April 20, 1968.)

M. C. Escher's Legacy

M.C.Escher's Legacy
Download Table of contents (pdf, 69 kB)
M.C. Escher's Legacy: A Centennial Celebration
M.C. Escher's Legacy: A Centennial Celebration

Doris Schattschneider, Michele Emmer (Eds.)

M. C. Escher: escadarias que ascendem e descendem... cubos com as arestas cruzadas... água que desce através de um canal...

Ascending and Descending 1960 Lithograph

Stars 1948 wood engraving

Waterfall 1961 Lithograph

Images from the Gallery of The Official M.C. Escher Website

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(...)
Reli a lista. Reli-a em voz alta, pausada. Não podia ser, era uma coisa que não podia ser e, no entanto, ali estava, sólida e absurda, como os famosos Mundos Impossíveis, desenhados por M. C. Escher: escadarias que ascendem e descendem ao mesmo tempo, cubos com as arestas cruzadas, água que desce através de um canal, num estranho edifício, até cair, em cascata, em direcção ao mesmo ponto, lá em baixo, ou lá em cima, de onde havia partido.
Que lindo, filha. Parece-me um milagre.
(...)

(José Eduardo Agualusa, Milagrário Pessoal)

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Vídeo
Fallingwater
A CG movie featuring the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, by Cristóbal Vila (www.etereaestudios.com).

M. C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (Doris Schattschneider)

M. C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry