Dragon 1952

M.C. Escher made this mind-bending Dragon using lithography, a printmaking technique, and you can almost feel the artist carefully carving out the lines. Look at how the dragon appears to emerge from the flat paper! I can imagine Escher lost in his own world, patiently crafting each scale and crystal with the same kind of loving care. The patterns on its body give the impression of a 3-dimensional depth. He really makes you work for it, doesn’t he? What I find fascinating is how Escher plays with our perception. Is the dragon really breaking free from the plane, or is it a clever illusion? It reminds me of how painters like Josef Albers explored the push and pull of color to create spatial effects. Escher seems to be saying that art can be a portal, a way to challenge what we think is real. It's like he’s having a conversation with the old masters about perspective, but with a surrealist twist. It's this dialogue across time that keeps art alive and kicking, always questioning, always reimagining.