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SEVENTEEN PRINTS BY MAURITS CORNELIS ESCHER FROM DE BEYERD COLLECTION, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE ACQUISITION FUND OF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN MUSEUM The first lot of the upcoming prints by Maurits Cornelis Escher is the early lithograph Stilleven met Spiegel (Still life with mirror), in which the artist tries his skills on the perspective. Looking into the mirror he sets his eyes on a street which is obviously not Dutch, but rather Southern-European. The artist, at the age of 36 is travelling by boat along the coast of Italy. The urge he feels to travel expresses his lifelong fascination for the world beyond eye level. So does the mirror in the still life lithograph. The reflecting surface offers the opportunity to broaden the limited space of the two dimensions Escher is working on. It is the same reflection that is found in the water of Rippling (lot 409), Three worlds (lot 421) and Puddle (lot 422). In the mirroring surface we experience a complete universe of sky, earth and water. Bounderies are turned into cosmic links. In his own words Escher has described his longing for peace of mind as a longing for endlesness. But in order to prevent oneself from getting lost in this timeless space one needs objects, clearly defined tokens, like stars in the sky. Or butterflies, swans, fish. These creatures gather in the artist's train of thought. In Square limit (lot 416) fish multiply in ever diminishing clones. Here mathematical rule and order reigns to reach the infinite. This order is, according to Maurits Cornelis Escher, larger than life. Not a human product, but nature's independent creation. Chrystals are the ultimate tangible formats of this creation. The principle is found in the lithograph Order and Chaos (lot 408). Quite literally. With it's repetition of shiny planes the central chrystal is set off against a mild chaos. Nevertheless chaos is nowhere convincing in this print. M.C. Escher feared the absence of structure. Reflection or mirroring is found in yet another aspect in the artist's oeuvre. Not only as symetrical inversion, but also as axial rotation, reached by the repetitive printing of woodblocks such as is subtly demonstrated by the tiny registration holes in Square limit (lot 416) or the pencil marks in Path of life (lot 417). The print itself is formed like a chrystal which is repeated once more by the printing of an edition. Path of life has it's vanishing point in the centre, as does Gallery of prints (lot 413), but this time we end up in a void. Escher, trying to create a spherical infiniteness on a paper plane wrote to his son "Maybe I am not far from Einstein's curved universe". Escher however could not fully comprehend mathematical theory that was offered him by academics who were intrigued by his prints. The artist was not able to complete the Gallery of Prints other than by putting his signature in the blank centre. It is only recently that mathematiciens at the University of Leiden assisted by a number of computers have found a solution for the focal point of this print. Maurits Cornelis Escher did not aim to disclose mathematical theory. He strove for peace of mind. For space and time. Not light, nor colour. Nothing one would describe as impressionistic. His life long he needed structure and control over his paper world in order not to get lost in the midst of his gallery of prints. Literature: M.C. Escher, Oneindigheidsbenaderingen in: De werelden van M.C. Escher, Red. J.L. Locher, Amsterdam, 1971, p. 40-44 W. Hazeu, M.C. Escher. Een biografie, Amsterdam, 1998, p. 373 (letter on Gallery of Prints) and p. 167 (on the lithograph Stillife with mirror. The lithograph was printed in an edition of 24, and was never completely sold)

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972)

Still life with mirror (Stilleven met spiegel) (Bool 248)

细节

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972)
Still life with mirror (Stilleven met spiegel) (Bool 248)
lithograph, 1934, a very good impression on wove paper, signed in pencil, numbered 9/24, with margins, mountstained, minor soiling in the upper left sheet corner, all four sheet edges papertaped to the mount, otherwise in very good condition, framed
L. 394 x 287 mm.; S. 444 x 330 mm.

注意事项

Christie's charges a Buyer's premium calculated at 23.205% of the hammer price for each lot with a value up to €110,000. If the hammer price of a lot exceeds €110,000 then the premium for the lot is calculated at 23.205% of the first €110,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of €110,000. Buyer's Premium is calculated on this basis for each lot individually.