Becoming Escher - by Joris Escher (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Becoming Escher is a literary journey of discovery to the origins of the fascinations of M.C. Escher. Through the eyes of M.C. Escher, the reader experiences the artist's metamorphosis; his development from a young man into a craftsman, into an artist, and finally into the Escher we all know"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

In a nineteenth century Chinese lacquer box, this book's author Joris Escher found two drawings of his great-uncle, the world-famous graphic artist M.C. Escher. The sheets had not been looked at in more than 90 years. He believes that these early studies may be the missing link in the development of Escher as an artist and starts a voyage of discovery to the origins of the fascinations of his great-uncle. Who was his Uncle Mauk? How did he become the world-famous artist M.C. Escher? How did he, precisely he, begin walking down a path on which no one had preceded him and no one would ever follow?
Joris Escher relates the artist's life-metamorphosis through the eyes of his uncle in four successive parts: his youth (Becoming Mauk), his art education as a young adult (Becoming a Graphic Artist), his happiest years in Italy (Becoming an Atist) and finally, already in his late thirties, the transformation that leads to his spatial experiments (Becoming Escher). The author relates this journey from the known facts of primary sources (letters, diaries, family albums).

Review Quotes

"Becoming Escher proves it: only the endlessly multi-layered language of the imagination is capable of catching the man and artist in Mauk. An ingenious and far-reaching book." --Jan Vantoortelboom, winner of the Boekenbon Literature Award 2023

About the Author

Joris Escher was born in Amsterdam as the youngest child of a publisher and an English teacher. He grew up living with his parents and two sisters in the town of Laren, some 20 miles from Amsterdam, where his great-uncle M.C. Escher spent the last years of his life.