May 20, 2009
Hartford High School
Escher Sketches and Islamic Design
Bob Mead
Part 1. What's the Connection?
Answer: Maurits Cornelis Escher, a 20th century graphic artist, turned his focus from landscape and other print subjects to geometric plane-filling after a visit to the Alhambra, a site of Moorish influence in Medieval Europe.
[MCE photo] Born in the Netherlands 1898, he was taught to make linoleum block printing in high school, and woodcuts a short time later. In 1922 he made the first of many trips to Italy to sketch. [Escher landscape]
His first visit to Grenada and the Alhambra in Spain was also in 1922. [Alhambra 16-rose sketch and photo link below]
Escher wrote: “The problem of how to fit congruent figures together, especially when meant to [suggest] a natural form, began to intrigue me ... every now and then I would return to the mental gymnastics of my puzzles.”
Terminology – synonyms |
||
plane-filling tiling tessellating |
rose rosette medallion starburst |
banding edging interlacing strap work |
More Alhambra scenes [A patio scene at Alhambra, web links below]
A friend's visit to Alhambra in 2006:
Trim pattern – triangles and midpoint reflections
Part 2. A Systematizer.
Escher invented systems and not just single formulas and grids.
[Single ribbon block and panel of 6, majolica tile system and floor tile design]
Many of his early projects were in desiging ceramic tiles, so it was natural to think about filling the plane with art. Geometric transformations greatly aid in producing works.
[transforms4, *GSP1 triangle tess. tool,**GSP2 quad tess. tool, and *GSP3 layers tool, tartan weave and layers 4, layers 6 ]
Dynamic geometry shows how he foresaw his work in animated and transitional forms.
[transition checkerboard, metamorphosis *poster, *GSP4 fish to birds animation]
Escher also had an interest in limits and infinity.
[infin4blue, spiral symm5, circle limit]. All MCE sketches hand drawn w/ drawing tools and grid paper.
Part 3. The Craftsman Scientist.
Escher, without formal mathematics, made thorough studies of the underlying geometry, including 3-D.
(scupt3D, *Zome models, *Boxes book, *glass sphere calendar page)
There is a little theorem about “tessellating” non-regular hexagons which leads to a great variety of his grids and drawings.
[**GSP5 hexblue tool – play, hexwire4, hexes to pentas, violets, shells scan]
Part 4. Student Workshop I.
The tessellating hexagons or "chicken wire." **GSP1-6 hexwire instructions. **GSP1-5 Quad tessellating tool.
Part 5. The Rise of Islam.
Islamic expansion in the 9th century (story and map). [N.B. map is of Mediterranean countries and not the Empire.]
The religion did not allow a realistic depiction of natural figures and that is the reason for the geometric basis.
My study's humble beginnings – a coloring book [Bourgoin 1].
Sutton’s book gave more hints about the geometry [twelves technique, and an Alhambra panel].
The banding and the infinite extension of pattern were meant to give depth and aid in meditation.
[Bourgoin 2, wall 888, 126 outline and 126 paint, 128, p11d5octpaint,
Part 6. The Meaning Behind the Art.
Certain symmetries and numbers hold religious significance for them. Having a central star results in odd pieces, implies The One (Divine Unity). Having 99 regions conveys the number of divinities [p.iii rug, Zome on wall: iLatt 106].
The perfect 14 refers to the beginning. Moslems go by a lunar calendar, each month beginning at New Moon, so the 14th day each month is the Full Moon and associated with the Prophet Mohammed (p40:14 medallion)
Part 7. Take a Trip to Iran?
There is a website where you can take a virtual tour of the city of Isfahan, Iran, see examples and read about some of the design principles.
http://www.isfahan.org.uk/puertra4/index.html
Part 8. Islamic Art in Flux.
Islamic artists, like Escher, imagine transitional forms. [*GSP7 p27 Breath of the Compassionate, *GSP8 p4 animation, Sutton p5starryhex ]
Part 9. Student workshop II.
First steps in developing a design grid. Octagonal design with start of banding. **GSP1-10 octa7.
Sources:
Schattschneider, Doris. M.C.Escher: Visions of Symmetry. W.H. Freeman & Co.
Sutton, Daud. Islamic Design. Walker Books.
Bourgoin, Islamic Patterns. Dover Press.
© All rights reserved