San Giovanni, Ravello (February 1932) 1932

M.C. Escher made this wood engraving of San Giovanni, Ravello, in February 1932. Look at the horizon lines! How Escher uses hatching to build up the tone, to give us that Italian sunlight hitting the stonework. Escher’s mark making here is a real lesson in process. In the bottom left, see those plants with their delicate flower heads? They are made up of lots of small, intentional marks. And those marks, when seen together, create a whole. It reminds me of making a painting. The way you can use layers of paint, thin washes and thick impasto, to create a sense of depth and texture. I think Escher is in conversation with Piranesi here, both playing with the idea of architectural space, but Escher’s work has a graphic, modern edge, an embrace of the abstract quality of line. The beauty of art is that it leaves space for interpretation. So, what do *you* see?