Caption: MC Escher, Air and Water I, 1938, woodcut. Collection Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © The MC Escher Company – Baarn – Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com
M.C. Escher, Waterfall, 1961, lithograph. Collection Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © The M.C. Escher Company – Baarn – Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com
Step into the impossible world of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972). That is literally possible in Escher – Other world in Kunstmuseum Den Haag. In this exhibition you will experience Escher's work like never before. His famous prints, in which optical illusions, impossible architecture, reflection and nature are central, are combined with spectacular installations by the Belgian architect and artist duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. Never before has the Kunstmuseum applied such an intervention in an exhibition.
From optical illusions and impossible architecture to true-to-life landscapes: the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) contains it all. In 2023 it will be 125 years since the artist was born. With the largest museum Escher collection in the world, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis form the center of this special anniversary year.
Birds turning into fish, water flowing up, two hands drawing each other. MC Escher masterfully transforms a blank sheet of paper into his own infinite worlds, in which he plays with the viewer's perception. His virtuoso metamorphoses and regular surface divisions amaze and inspire visitors to his exhibitions worldwide. With four exhibitions in Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis, plus numerous activities with cultural partners, schools, neighborhoods and entrepreneurs in the city, The Hague will become Escher's city in 2023. During the jubilee year, a number of buildings in the city center will be decorated in Escher style.
This unique combination sheds new light on the beloved and versatile artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, who, 125 years after his birth, continues to inspire people of all ages worldwide, including mathematicians, architects, artists and art lovers.
Other world
Escher's prints are the result of an unprecedented talent, but also of an almost obsessive dedication to the graphic profession. His oeuvre, like that of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, is an exploration of the boundaries of space, landscape, perspective and illusion. Where Escher does this on paper, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh does this on the basis of spatial installations. Gijs Van Vaerenbergh devised space-filling interventions for this exhibition, which focuses on a cross-section of MC Escher's oeuvre. These interventions consist of sculptures based on, among other things, lightness and heaviness, temporality and eternity, impossible architecture and infinity; themes that are also central to Escher's work.
Escher and the Art Museum
The collection of Escher's work at Kunstmuseum Den Haag is the largest museum Escher collection in the world. This is due to the bond that Escher built up with the museum since his first major retrospective took place here in 1968: The Worlds of MC Escher. Escher was very pleased with this first overview of his oeuvre. After Escher's death, the Kunstmuseum acquired a considerable part of his oeuvre. Part of this can always be seen in Escher in Het Paleis.
2023: The Hague city of Escher
In 2023 it will be 125 years since Maurits Cornelis Escher was born. With the largest museum Escher collection in the world, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Escher in Het Paleis form the center of this special anniversary year. With four exhibitions plus numerous activities with cultural partners, schools, neighborhoods and entrepreneurs in the city, The Hague will be Escher's city in 2023. During this jubilee year, a number of buildings in the city center as well as shop windows will be decorated in Escher style.
Opening weekend
On the occasion of the jubilee year 2023: The Hague city of Escher and the exhibition Escher – Other World, the Kunstmuseum is organizing a festive opening weekend on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February with numerous surprising activities that tie in with Escher's work.
The discoverer of Escher: Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita
18 February 2023 to 1 October 2023 in Escher in Het Paleis
At the same time, the special exhibition about the discoverer of Maurits Cornelis Escher: Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, opens in Escher in Het Paleis. This talented artist and graphic artist also taught graphic techniques at the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts. When Escher starts studying architecture there, De Mesquita gets to see his graphic work. He is so impressed by this that he convinces Escher to switch to his field. Escher then develops into a masterful graphic artist and the two form an artistic and personal bond for life. Even after the death of De Mesquita in Auschwitz in 1944, Escher honors his teacher and friend. In this exhibition, the poignant graphics of Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita hang side by side with the work of his most famous student.
