Fairy-Tale 1920

Editor: This is M.C. Escher’s “Fairy-Tale,” created in 1920 using woodcut. The print depicts a bustling street scene, but something about the rigid lines and exaggerated characters feels almost…unsettling. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The exaggerated perspective and social caricatures definitely jump out. Escher, early in his career, seems to be playing with the anxieties of modern urban life. Note the sharp contrasts in light and shadow, the claustrophobic alleyway. This piece could be interpreted as a commentary on the performative aspect of public life in the roaring twenties, how the urban environment fosters almost theatrical displays of emotion. Editor: Performative, that's interesting. Can you elaborate? Curator: Consider the figure with outstretched arms, almost as if on a stage, juxtaposed with the more stoic figures in the foreground. What role does each individual play in the city's spectacle, and how is Escher depicting those roles through his linework and composition? Is he critiquing social hierarchies or perhaps highlighting a kind of frenzied energy within this new urban landscape? The cobblestone itself becomes an almost overwhelming sea for them to traverse. Editor: That's a fascinating perspective! I was so focused on the strangeness of the scene I hadn't considered the artist's viewpoint on society and that historical time period. Curator: It makes you wonder about Escher's own position. Was he a detached observer, or a participant in the unfolding drama of modern life? Understanding his personal history during this period might further illuminate his motivations and the artwork's potential social commentary. Editor: Thanks. Thinking about it as social commentary really changes the way I see it. Curator: And that's what makes art history so rewarding! Each work exists within a broader context, shaping and shaped by the society that created it.