San Gimignano 1923

M.C. Escher made this woodcut, San Gimignano, and right away you notice how he's built a whole world with just black and white. It's like he's saying, "Look, art can be about limitation." Check out the lines making up the buildings and towers. They’re not just outlines; they’re the thing itself. That gives it a real tangible feel, like you could reach out and touch the buildings. I think it shows a love of process, of the work that goes into building something, both the town and the image. Escher is great at playing with our perception, nudging us to question what we see and how we see it. Think about Piranesi, or maybe some early modernist cityscapes. But really, it’s all Escher, bending reality to his will. And isn’t that what art's all about? Not just showing us the world, but showing us how we can reimagine it.