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Plane Filling I

A work made of mezzotint in black on cream laid paper.
© The M.C. Escher Company B.V.

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  • A work made of mezzotint in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

March 1951

Artist:

Maurits Cornelis Escher
Dutch, 1898-1972

About this artwork

M.C. Escher became interested in mezzotint due to its tonal range, and printed eight editions in the medium between 1946 and 1951. Like many of Escher’s perceptually dizzying but impeccably calculated images, this black-and-white composition of interlocking fish, fowl, primitive nudes, and mythical beasts can be read in several ways. Its light and dark contrasts form an overall geometrical pattern, like a chessboard run amok, or a jigsaw puzzle writhing with mutating pieces. The creatures may not be far removed from Hieronymus Bosch’s Renaissance-era views of the underworld, but Escher’s claustrophobic, patterned landscape is also full of delight.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Maurits Cornelis Escher

Title

Plane Filling I

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1951

Medium

Mezzotint in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Image/plate: 15.2 × 20.2 cm (6 × 8 in.); Sheet: 23.9 × 31.7 cm (9 7/16 × 12 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the R. J. Frisby Family

Reference Number

1987.199.9

Copyright

© The M.C. Escher Company B.V.

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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