Roosje Ingen Housz 1920

M.C. Escher made this black and white image, Roosje Ingen Housz, sometime during his lifetime using an unknown process. Looking at this artwork, I imagine Escher, in his studio, playing with light and shadow, probably in the dark room. The high contrast creates strong shapes. A web of white dots against a sea of black. Then, a face emerges. The way that it is cropped makes it feel like a fragment, like a memory of a person, someone he knew or loved. I wonder how he felt while making this portrait. There’s something gentle in the soft curves, but the stark black and white gives it a sense of drama, maybe longing. This reminds me of other artists like Man Ray, also working with photography and portraiture, using light in expressive ways. To me, artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas. What I see here is an ongoing exploration of seeing, feeling, and rendering form.