Mc escher artwork tessellations

Even though Escher produced more than 650 prints of Day and night, Sky and water I is undoubtedly his most famous work and the one that is most widely known to the general public.

This square woodcut – depicting fish transforming into birds – can be seen on posters, mug, bedspreads and sometimes even in advertising campaigns. Publicising everything from cars to Escher exhibitions, such as the two exhibitions that were held in the Spanish city of Granada in 2011.

As is often the case with Escher, Sky and water is a simple and yet complex story.

Let’s start by taking a look at the first version of it – the square woodcut.

So, what exactly is happening in this print? My natural inclination is to view the print vertically, from the bottom up, i.e. from the water to the sky. However, the title suggests otherwise – we ought to look down from the sky onto the water.

Whichever way we look at it, a transformation is taking place, a change is occu