Only Those Who Attempt the Absurd Will Achieve the Impossible: Biography of M. C. Escher

M.C. Escher once said, “Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible.” When people think of great art today, the most common names the come to mind are Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso among others. People picture appealing aesthetic as well as a variety of content. Throughout history, art styles have evolved from religious and realistic to abstract and even mathematical. Maurits Cornelius Escher was pioneer and innovator in the twentieth century with the creation of novel mathematical art styles. Through experimentation, he discovered and explored concepts that won him the following of artists and scientists alike. He approached his art like a science, carefully examining each and every part. Like most artists, Escher’s skill and style grew and changed with time; defined by both his decisions and his actions made throughout his life. Maurits Cornelius Escher was born on June 17, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (capital of Dutch province of Friesland); the youngest son of four to George Arnold Escher, a civil engineer, and Sarah Gleichman Escher, daughter of a government minister. In 1903, the Escher family moved to Arnhem. There, Escher attended both elementary school and secondary school. Though not pious, he attended a religious school at the recommendation of his parents. Escher excelled in carpentry, music, and drawing, while in all other subjects he did not. In school, he met both his lifelong friend, Bas Kist, and his first and most likely one of his most influential art teachers, F.W. van der Haagen. Both helped Escher develop his ideas and encouraged him to make his first linoleum cuts, a method of printing. After failing his final exams —never officially finishing high school-- in 1918, Escher enrolled in classes at the Higher Technical School in Delft where he would try and make up for the failed subjects. Because of his studies, Escher was able to acquire a deferment from the military. Escher, being ill from some