Saint Vincent Martyr 1925

M.C. Escher made this woodcut of Saint Vincent, sometime during his lifetime, with tools to carve the image in relief. Imagine the artist, removing slivers of wood from the block, to reveal the figures in stark black and white. In Escher’s vision, Vincent lies in repose, an ethereal glow emanating from his body as if he’s lit from within. Look at the bird of prey with piercing eyes that watches over him. The artist sets a mood of both serenity and foreboding, as we glimpse a town and then creatures on a distant cliff. What was he thinking when he contrasted Vincent’s still body with the wildness all around him? Escher was deeply engaged with pattern, mathematics, and spatial puzzles. You can see how this meticulous approach comes through, even as he ventures into more emotional and narrative territory. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation, grappling with questions of faith, nature, and what it means to be human, each in their own way.