The World of M.C. Escher 1971 Abrams Hardcover Vintage Art Coffee Table Book
$ 14.08
Description
The World of M.C. Escher 1971 Abrams Hardcover Vintage Art Coffee Table Book. Edited by J.L. Locher• with H.S.M. Coxeter, C.H.A. Broos, G.W. Locher • and Escher's Own Writings. The World of M.C. Escher is the definitive monograph on one of the most original and widely loved visual artists of the twentieth century. First Edition • 1971 Mathematical Art / Graphic Prints / Tessellations Harry N. Abrams • New York The World of M.C. Escher 300 Illustrations • 8 Full-Color Plates • Fold-Out Catalogue Edited by J.L. Locher • with H.S.M. Coxeter, C.H.A. Broos, G.W. Locher • and Escher's Own Writings Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York • 1971 • 270 Pages • Large 4to • ISBN 978-0-8109-0107-0 About This Book Published in the same year that its subject died, The World of M.C. Escher is the definitive monograph on one of the most original and widely loved visual artists of the twentieth century. Edited by museum curator J.L. Locher and produced by Harry N. Abrams — the premier publisher of art books in America — this large-format hardcover features 300 illustrations, including 8 full-color plates, and a fold-out catalogue with captions for every work reproduced. The essays engage seriously with the mathematical, philosophical, and artistic dimensions of Escher's work. Contributor H.S.M. Coxeter — the legendary Cambridge geometer whose correspondence with Escher directly influenced the Circle Limit series — provides the mathematical context for work that blurred the line between art and science. Escher himself contributes his own writings, giving direct access to his thinking about space, perception, and visual reality. M.C. Escher (1898–1972) was 70 years old before a retrospective exhibition was held. Yet the prints in this book — Drawing Hands, Relativity, Ascending and Descending, Waterfall, the Metamorphosis series — have become among the most recognized images of the 20th century. This 1971 Abrams hardcover is the original large-format edition that introduced Escher to the American art-book public. ✦ About the Artist ✦ Maurits Cornelis Escher 1898–1972 • Dutch Graphic Artist • Woodcuts, Lithographs, Mezzotints • "Father of Modern Tessellations" M.C. Escher trained as a graphic artist at the Haarlem School of Architecture and Decorative Arts. Years in Italy (Rome, 1923–1935) gave him the architectural grammar that would define his impossible structures. A 1936 visit to the Alhambra in Granada, transfixed by the Moorish geometric tile patterns, launched his obsession with tessellation — the "regular division of the plane" — that dominated the rest of his career. His work operates in two worlds simultaneously: art and mathematics. His explorations of symmetry, impossible objects, infinite regression, and paradoxes of perception brought him into correspondence with mathematicians Roger Penrose (whose tribar inspired Waterfall and Ascending and Descending) and H.S.M. Coxeter (whose hyperbolic geometry paper inspired the Circle Limits series). He left behind more than 400 prints and 2,000 drawings, celebrated in major retrospectives from the National Gallery of Art to the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. He died on March 27, 1972, weeks after this book was first published. Major Works & Themes Documented Tessellations & Regular Division — The Regular Division of the Plane series; birds, fish, reptiles, and figures in perfect mathematical tiling Impossible Architecture — Relativity, Ascending and Descending, Waterfall; structures that defy gravity and Euclidean logic Metamorphosis & Transformation — Landmark Metamorphosis woodcuts; forms dissolving seamlessly into other forms across vast visual narratives Self-Reference & Reflection — Drawing Hands, Three Spheres II, Hand with Reflecting Sphere; recursion and the paradox of representation Infinity & the Circle Limits — Circle Limit I–IV; hyperbolic geometry made visible through direct collaboration with mathematician H.S.M. Coxeter Early Italian Landscapes — Rarely seen early work; the roots of his architectural obsession in Mediterranean landscape and townscape drawings Title The World of M.C. Escher Editor J.L. Locher Contributors H.S.M. Coxeter; C.H.A. Broos; G.W. Locher; M.C. Escher Publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York Year 1971 — First Edition Pages 270 • Large 4to Format Illustrations 300 Total • 8 Full-Color Plates Extras Fold-out illustrated catalogue of captions Format Hardcover with Dust Jacket ISBN-13 978-0-8109-0107-0 Condition VG — Very Good Dust jacket shows minor wear — bright and displayable with the original distinctive cover image intact. Binding is tight and secure; green cloth boards are clean with gilt spine lettering. Pages are clean and crisp throughout. No writing, underlining, or highlighting anywhere. Fold-out catalogue is present and intact. Please see photos for full assessment. ✦ Ideal For Escher collectors and vintage art book enthusiasts seeking the original 1971 Abrams large-format hardcover — the edition that introduced Escher's full body of work to American audiences. A natural fit for lovers of mathematical art, graphic art, and optical illusion; mathematics educators teaching tessellation and geometry; science fiction and fantasy fans who know Escher's imagery from album covers and poster culture; and anyone drawn to the intersection of art and mathematics. Also an outstanding coffee table display piece — one of the most visually striking art monographs of the 1970s. JT Enterportals Rare, Academic & Scholarly Books 📦 Same or Next Business Day Shipping >>Powered by WonderLister App
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