Eye 1946

This is M.C. Escher’s ‘Eye’, and it’s rendered in lithograph. Can you imagine Escher’s focused gaze as he coaxed this image into being, line by careful line? The eye looms large, a landscape of skin and lash, but it's the reflection in the pupil that grabs you. A tiny skull stares back, a memento mori nestled in the very organ of sight. I think Escher is telling us that seeing isn't just about optics. It’s about mortality, about awareness of our own finitude. It reminds me of those old Dutch masters, obsessed with detail, but Escher twists it, adding a layer of existential playfulness. That skull, a tiny jester in the theater of perception. Artists throughout time are having this conversation. We see, we reflect, we remind ourselves, and each other, of what it means to be human. And we keep looking.