Escher and His Use of “Metaphor”-phosis

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Escher and His Use of “Metaphor”-phosis

The driving force behind life is the constant process of change. We see the process of metamorphosis on all levels. We see days turn into nights, babies grow into adults, caterpillars morph into butterflies, and on an even grander scale, the biological evolution of species. The process of metamorphosis connects two completely diverse entities, serving as a bridge between the two. Day and night are connected by evening, the slow sinking of the sun in the sky. In a typical life cycle, birth and death are bridged by various life stages, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and finally old age. Black can be morph into white through a series of graduations of shades of gray. The artist M.C. Escher was very aware of the effects of this most prevalent process, and drew attention to not only the aesthetic value of metamorphosis, but also the symbolic and larger contextual meaning it carries. In Escher’s work, we can trace his own personal metamorphosis, his evolution as an artist, and his acute talent for bridging concepts such as the realms of science and art and aspects such as fantasy and reality.

Maurits Cornelis Escher was born on June 17,1898, in Leeuwarden, the capital of the province of Friesland, located in the northern Netherlands (Locher, 7). He spent the majority of his youth in the town of Arnhem, where he attended a public high school. There, he was encouraged by the drawing teacher, F.W. van der Haagen, who early on recognized Escher’s propensity for becoming an artist. After having completed secondary school, Escher followed his father’s advice and enrolled in the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem. Here, another faculty member...

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