Berween St.Peter and Sistine Chapel (March 1936) 1936

This lithograph titled 'Between St. Peter and Sistine Chapel' was made by M.C. Escher in March 1936. Look at the stark contrast between light and shadow, it’s so dramatic, like the architecture itself. The way Escher works with texture here is fantastic; the tiny repetitive marks that describe the tiled roofs, the soft gradations that describe the rounded forms of the buildings in the distance – you can almost feel the sun beating down. There is a very direct relationship between the labor of making the work and what the image depicts. The buildings loom, creating a powerful sense of depth and perspective; our eyes go on a journey through Escher's Rome, searching for a way out, but ultimately becoming trapped within the labyrinthine composition. Escher really understood how to make images that mess with your head! His work feels related to Piranesi's, both artists explore the power of architecture, and how we experience space, albeit in different ways. Art is always a conversation between artists, and between us and the works themselves.