Ravello II 1923

M.C. Escher's ‘Ravello II’ is like a puzzle meticulously crafted with ink, one tiny line at a time. I imagine Escher, pen in hand, leaning in close, mapping out each terrace and winding road with obsessive precision. The world he's created here is orderly, but maybe too orderly, and starts to feel totally unreal. It reminds me of the way we try to contain chaos with logic, but the world always spills over the edges, doesn’t it? Look how the hatching marks create texture, almost like he’s building up layers of thought. Are those buildings really there, or are they just symbols in his mind? It makes me think about the ways we try to make sense of landscape but actually just impose our own grids and structures. Artists like Escher are in dialogue with each other, across time, wrestling with similar problems, and pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible. Painting or drawing becomes a way to embody and express ambiguity, inviting multiple readings and interpretations, and that's the magic of it.