| Polyhedrons:
In the works of Escher, polyhedrons play a role of the main figure as well as supporting elements. In the works, "Order and Chaos" and "Stars," the artist uses non-geometric shapes to strengthen the impression of the correctness of the central figures: the chaotic collection of useless, cracked, broken objects was reflected in the first-mentioned works in the symbol of order and beauty and in the second, two chameleons live in the structure of three regular hollow octahedrons.
Spheres and polygons were used in the works of M.C. Escher to create perspective. “Gravity” was the last lithography in the polygon series. The dodecahedron, formed by twelve flat five-pointed stars, was represented on it. A four-legged long-necked tailless fantastic animal lives on each of the areas; its body is in a pyramid, in holes of which the creature sticks out its limbs, the tip of the pyramid in one of the walls is the place of habitation of the adjacent monster. Pyramids can simultaneously be walls as well as floors: the lithograph serves as a transition to the relativity group.
Spirals:
The main types of spirals which were used by M.C.Escher in his works, were three: the spiral -mosaic (for instance, gravure "Whirlpools", in which the artist worked on an infinite set with regard to the filling of the surface), the formation of the surface (for example, 4 strips, forming the spherical surface, passing from pole to pole, infinitely small at the poles and broader at the equator, are represented in the gravure "Sphere Spirals"), the coiling of spirals into themselves (work "Spiral").
Space shape:
Escher was troubled by the transition from the plane to space, the interaction of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional subjects, having a specific shape and capable of moving in space. Escher tried to illustrate the dynamics of the phenomenon and noticed the absurdity in the fact that, several drawn lines can be perceived by the eye as a solid figure. An example of work, in which the artist studied such perception, is "Three intersecting planes", where each plane, made up of square tiles, arranged in a chessboard pattern, reducing in perspective up to the point and the three resultant points form an equilateral triangle. Apart from this, Escher worked on filling the space, in his opinion, with the third "Limit Circle", created on this subject, and can be considered ideal with respect to composition. The Limit circle - ichthyic figures, which decrease in size while moving away from the center of the circle, densely filling the surface; such a decrease can be infinite; in this case, the picture demonstrates one of the types of non-Euclidean space, described by Henri Poincare; theoretically, a person, located in such space, will not feel anything unusual, but can not draw a figure with four right angles, connected by straight lines since squares or rectangles are non-existent in this space.
Well-known works, connected with the shape of space, can also be called the Mobius strip of Escher. |
