Who was M.C. Escher?
A peek at the artistMaurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972) was a Dutch artist who loved math, mirrors, and patterns. He drew worlds that look real but couldn’t actually exist — like staircases that climb forever or lizards crawling out of a flat drawing.
He didn’t use computers. He carved his ideas into wood and stone, and printed them with ink. Some of his pictures took him months to finish!
- 1898 Born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands
- 1922 Visited the Alhambra in Spain — the patterns there changed his life
- 1937 Made his first true tessellation
- 1953 Drew “Relativity” with stairs going every which way
- 1972 Made art until the very end
Tessellation Lab
Tap shapes to color themA tessellation is a pattern of shapes that fit together with no gaps and no overlaps. Escher made tessellations of birds, fish, lizards, even angels and devils. Tap the tiles to color the pattern!
Tip: hold and drag your finger to paint many tiles at once.
Mirror Drawing Pad
Draw symmetry like Escher didEscher loved mirrors and symmetry. Whatever you draw here, the pad will mirror many times around a center point — like a kaleidoscope. Try squiggles, dots, swirls!
The Impossible Staircase
Up is down, down is upEscher’s “Ascending and Descending” shows people walking up stairs that loop back to where they started. It looks normal, but if you trace it… you’re tricked! Move the slider to send a little walker around forever.
Metamorphosis
Squares becoming birdsIn Escher’s “Metamorphosis” pieces, simple squares slowly turn into lizards, fish, or birds. Slide to morph!
Wow Facts
Tap a cardQuick Quiz
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