The Dutch artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972) created some of the most celebrated and extraordinary images in twentieth-century art, yet he remains an elusive figure. In the 1960s, when his reputation sky-rocketed, he was championed on the one hand by leading mathematicians who admired his grasp of geometry, and on the other by hippies who claimed him as the godfather of psychedelic art. Rock stars and teenagers were equally amazed by Escher's ingenuity and imagination, yet the art world looked upon him - and still looks upon him - with reserved judgement; in short, his work is ripe for rediscovery and reappraisal. This catalogue accompanies a major exhibition - the largest ever held in the UK - of nearly 100 of Escher's greatest drawings and prints. Based on the world-renowned M.C. Escher collection at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, the Netherlands, it has been organised by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, and tours to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London.
