Escher's Journey

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M.C. Escher is one of the most famous artists of the Netherlands. What many people don’t know, however, is that he comes from Leeuwarden. The Museum of Friesland will showcase a large-scale exhibition of his work in 2018. With over 80 earlier and later original prints, his artistic development from a technically competent graphic artist to a world famous virtuoso becomes visually clear. Follow Escher through his physical and mental travels.

The exhibition is set up as a three dimensional biography, whereby you come to know Escher personally by taking a walk in his shoes. The journey begins in 1898 when Maurits Cornelis was born in the city palace, located on the Grote Kerkstraat where the Princessehof Ceramics Museum now stands. The locations in which he found himself were always a major influence on his artistry. From the Dutch dreary flatness of the first decade in the 20th century, to the sun and mountains of the Mediterranean. Escher spent his happiest years in Italy. When looking at his prints of Italian villages and his dark illustrations of Rome at night, you discover that under the influence of this beautiful landscape, he starts to experiment with striking perspectives and compilations of images. Back in the Netherlands, Escher processed all these experiences and impressions into complex, mathematical images and inconceivable worlds. The iconic works that made Escher so famous and loved form the climax and end to the journey.

For this exhibition, the Museum of Friesland works closely with the M.C. Escher Foundation in Baarn, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (Escher in het Paleis) and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

2018 = Escher

In 2018, Leeuwarden is all about Escher. Next to a large exhibition of his original work, as of the 25th of January 2018 the Museum of Friesland will also present an impressive array of contemporary art by (inter)national artists who work in the same theme as M.C. Escher. These works are designed to play with your perception and lead you into a world where nothing is as it seems. In addition, the museum organises provincial projects all year round under the name Planet Escher, the aim of which is to bring a variety of groups within the mienskip (community) together, with Escher as the binding factor. For more information, please visit friesmuseum.nl.

The Museum of Friesland is co-financed by the Ir. Abe Bonnema Foundation, the province of Friesland, the Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland, EZ/Kompas, the BankGiro Lottery and Aegon.

Copyright image: M.C. Escher’s “Dag en Nacht” © the M.C. Escher Company B.V. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.