M.C. Escher ~ Documentary

The name of this, in case you were wondering, is "Metamorphose: M.C. Escher, 1898-1972", made for Radio Netherlands Television in 1999.

My art teacher showed our class this documentary when I was 14 years and it changed the way I thought about what is possible in art. My favorite emcee.

When I was young I was fascinated by his art and I still am. He was unique, he was a genius, he was a fantastic artist.

Enthralling video. Glad to know that he reached fame while he was still alive and productive.

As a very young child I never used to draw the usual things. My school books were covered in little cubes. When I first saw an Escher in my tweens I was blown away. And the amazement at the revolutionary and deeply meaningful nature of Escher’s work becomes even greater as I get closer to fifty. His art goes beyond revolutionary and beautiful. It’s actually metaphysical.

Can’t thank you enough for this brilliant and sensitive record of the life and works of this wonderful artist, what a treat!

Various perspectives in one drawing. He is my favorite. That he couldn't make a living and toiled on with parent's support says so much. Like his art multiple perspectives are equal.

I think that Escher was a total driven genius. His work is so distinctive, precise, intelligent and exquisitely beautiful. To die for..

The most underrated Artist of all time. Unbelievable tallent.

There is an elegant collection of essays and reproductions of Escher's works in The World of M C Escher curated by J L Locher. In addition, Mathematician Douglas Hofstadter wrote a remarkable treatise on the human thought process entitled Gödel Escher and Bach, linking them as a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines. Escher's work is used in fractal geometry to create computer art and animation. We are fortunate to have an accessible record of such a visionary.

At a time when Western art was difficult to access in my reclusive Himalayan country, my sister went to England and returned with a book of Escher's works. It captivated my 14 year old mind. 35 years later, it still does. I had so many questions. Thank you for this great docu. I now know the man better.

I discovered Escher in primary school while reading a biology book that had a chapter on optical illusions and have been always fascinated by his art. When I studied architecture we constantly used him as base for a lot of graphic exercises and then when I became an architect we started using his art as a regular source of inspiration. Being able to do what he does with just pencil and paper will never cease to mesmerize me.

That he made the woodcuts that were used to make his prints is what amazes me about his artistry.

A rich, carefully crafted documentary that does justice to this amazing artist. Thank you.

Escher is one of my favorite artists of all time and several of his works adorn my classroom. His art is always amazing to talk about and hopefully my own students are inspired by them just as I have been.

My love and respect for Escher is one of the very few things that has lasted for my entire adult life - and I'm quite old now. Thank you for this video. Wonderful insights.

The patience, precision and persistence he had to make all those detailed prints blows me away!

I first learned of Escher while at Columbia College in 1970, when a classmate friend took me by the hand and almost dragged me to the nearest bookshop where he'd seen an Escher book on display. My friend had seen one or two of my early efforts in art and knew I'd dig Escher. A great documentary - as much as I've been a life-long fan, I had no idea of what he did in his earlier life, in Italy (where I live since 1996 and which I will never leave), before the work which made him world-famous. After M.C. Escher was made, they broke the mold.

I became mesmerized by his work about 1970, and until this video, I assumed he was a German who had died 50 yrs earlier. Imagine, now, how wonderful to see a 'modern' film of such a handsome man, speaking Dutch, the language of artistic geniuses & innovators. The best possible form of autobiography. Thank you so much!

It seems that a lot of the more famous artist come from wealthy families, or marry into wealth. One can only wonder how many truly great artists have lived, died, walked, worked, and dreamed right next to us. The only thing stopping people from realizing their genius being the lack of financial support, stopping them them from pursuing their true talents. Without an abundance of money, one must toil in labor in order to merely survive, while the wealthy few live off of the labor of the many. That is one of life's, many, truly disgusting realities unfortunately. To be clear, M. Escher is amongst my favorites, and I hold no ill feelings toward the wealthy, it's merely by chance what class one is born into. Barring the very few, highly motivated (or exceedingly lucky) people that manage to propel themselves out of the lower classes.

La verdad no conocía a fondo, al artista, aunque hace mucho tiempo vi en publicaciones de unas revistas, su obra la cual me dejo imprecionado, no lo volví a ver nunca más, y ni sabía de quien se trataba, con este ducumental biografíco de su vida y su obra, quedo complacido, de saber que fue un artista de vanguardia, muy prolifico un sus creaciones, de gran complejidad, la objetividad y la subjetivad de las cosas reales que represento, mi enhorabuena, saludos desde Quito.....

It’s so heartening that his brother helped him find his voice!

Masterful story telling .. i knew some of his work , but to know the man who created that work , outstanding

As a budding artist, in junior high and high school, I was aware of Escher's art by time I was 13, in 1966. I eventually became a Fine Arts print maker, studying that in college and grad school. I tried my hand at all methods of print making. Wood cuts, etchings and engravings, stone lithography, and silk screen printing, also known as Serigraphy. Pop Art was all the rage when I went off to college and that was what I chose to take as my inspiration. Silk screen printing was the best medium for expressing one's self in that style, and Andy Warhol made good use of that medium. Escher's style and designs were always available to look at, and many books with his art were ones I owned.

The quote , " Hands never lie" moved me. The road to freedom may be a lonely one but to embark on a journey that is your own is worth more then all the riches in the world.

I loved and was very fascinated by Escher as a teenager. He was still alive until I was 14. He is an enigma unto himself and knew it but wasn't sure whether to hate it or love it. Melancholic.

I chose Escher for my first year graphic design course main assignment. Missed a lot of this information though. It was really eye opening his work is true genius, I guess he was lucky to have his father support him financially. It is one thing I did not know about from my research. To think he could do that because of his fathers provision. He had a wonderful father to do that. The others in the family, his family life must have been core reason for success.

Escher was certainly on another plane. If he could only have envisioned fractals, but perhaps he did... or he discovered the fabric of space-time within the folds of an angel's nightgown.

Watching this film, reminded me why I so love Echer's work His prints always relaxes my chaotic whirlwind of thoughts, Our English classroom at school had a print of Night & Day, That was 30 years ago, yet still remember with amazement.

I have loved his work for many years and enjoy coming back to this documentary after first seeing it years ago. What a different world he was looking at during his time. What a beauty and what a sad person. Sorry to hear of the many tough times behind the amazing art. PLUR...to all.

Thank you for this lovely film. I have been a great fan of his for many yrs. Wish I still had my book on him. So sad but endearing that he paid such homage to his mentor.

First deep dive into his work and life. The whole video is a piece of poetry. Impressive

Excellent documentary. One of my favorite artists. I’ve always been completely taken with his work, and its complexity since I first discovered him, I believe in my teenage years, I believe the first prince I ever remember seeing was of him, holding up the orb. there’s something very profound, complex and insightful in that image that you cannot escape. And it always stays with you. A fascinating artist. And I enjoyed learning about his life as well.

Es el documental más completo que he visto de Escher, ¡su diario!, las grabaciones en donde se aprecia el entintado y estampación, las placas...

MC Escher was truly one of the 20th century's greatest graphical artists. He was fascinated with geometric shapes and perception.

i am 71 retired in mexico. there is a small town Teotetlan de Valle outside Oaxaca City where generations have woven wool rugs and wall hangings for many generations. traditional scenes of birds and other natural wonders have given way to works inspired by modern artists. Picasso, Gaugan, and Escher are three i have acquired. When I asked a local why they would choose these depictions of european works, she replied " they want to eat". ah yes to eat, to chew . . . .

What an incredible mind this man must have had. What an incredible power of vision, and raw creative energy! Artists never cease to astound me. I am left speechless yet again.

Thanks uploader. Cannot possibly thank you enough. I adore this man's work. A genius.

It is, indeed, our great fortune that MC Escher had a well to do, supportive father, that he had a wonderful, inspiring art teacher who encouraged him to pursue graphic art, that he chose to visit the Alhambra Palace and to become smitten by the beautiful, intricate, repetitive, tesselated tiling mosaics contained therein, that his artistic endeavors were evidently more important to him than his marriage, and that he had a workaholic devotion to his ever mushrooming, innate talent and genius!

Escher's work transcends art, science, imagination.... A grand master.

This was an eye opener for me. Truly amazing talent. Brilliant and insightful work. The man was a genius.

In my father's waiting room for his patients , he had the print Relativity . As a young boy it always drew me in and still does and today I have one myself .

Thank you for this documentary. His art is so epic, great to know more about him.

I had the honor speaking with him over the phone when - as a student and editor of our college magazine - wished to interview him. He apologized and told me that he even had to deflect interviews from very large publications, due to his illness which claimed him six months later.

He is one of my greatest inspirations. He was visionary

This is a splendid video that enlightens and enriches one about an extraordinary artist ... a revelation. Thank you so much for this treasure.

Unbelievable, He, Mr Escher was a Master artist. Thanks for posting. I feel blown away.

Worth watching 🙏🏻 2023

Thank you. I can't add more than what's already been said about this incredibly talented man.

Fantastic film about an artist who was way ahead of his time! (think of fractals, stochastic imagery, and the magnified expansion of the identical!)

Fascinating documentary. Escher has always been one of my favorite artists. I've seen a number of documentaries on him, but this went into far more depth of the man himself rather than just concentrating on his art. I learned a lot about this complex man and his emerging genius. It's a real lesson in human psychology. "Victory belongs to those that believe in it the most, and believe in it the longest" - Randall Wallace

I saw The M.C. Escher Exhibit at BYU! It was truly amazing!

Most grateful for this top-notch doc about one of my favourite artists. I sincerely hope Heaven is decorated with Escher's works, or else all the fuss about getting there might be pointless to me.

Ότι ποιο όμορφο και επαναστατικό στον χώρο της τέχνης. Η φύση της Ιταλίας με όλες της εκφάνσεις του έδωσαν μια πολυμορφική ευκαιρία να δει τον κόσμο ως μια ενότητα.🍉🇮🇹

An artist like him truly comes once in a lifetime.

as a child i was captivated by mc escher- here, you have now captured the man and his works in a delightful manner. thank you

What a wonderful, amazing and well done documentary. Thank you.

What a brilliant documentary. I was transported into the mysteries of the universe and mankind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Reminds of Yayoi Kusama's infinity mirrored room. You do not have the words to describe the experience and Esher's work, like Yayoi Kusama's work, is an experience somehow ineffable.

An extraordinary man who understood infinity and could bring it into the 3D world. . . Blessings to you Maurits. . .

Probably the greatest graphic artist of all time !

I have been to the Church in Harlem .I was lucky enough to hear the grand sound of the biggest pipe organ in Europe .The sound takes your breath away

These prints of his are so pretty. Wow! That organ was great. Italy is beautiful. Quite the narration. Brilliant.

He died when i was 11 and he was world famous, at least in the Netherlands, for all i knew. I was impressed with his work and i think it influenced me. He's the only artist i ever bought a book from, round 1980, with reproductions. I never really knew much about him, till now that i just saw the video. I would have liked him for sure. His work still intrigues me. Its on the virge of life and death, light and dark, order and chaos, logic and madness. Beauty and repetition... I think everyone can feel that what he did was important, even though maybe we cant say how or why.

Depth in art and human suffering go hand in hand. Exquisite camera work by the way. I enjoyed this documentary from start to finish and wish it would go on forever.

One of my favorite artists. Thank you for this.

It's fascinating and encouraging to see how his technical skill just kept improving throughout his life. Although he's most known for his understanding of geometric principles, his draftsmanship, especially later on, is amazing aswell. Truly an exceptional artist.

Весьма интересный рассказ. Я рисунки Эшера увидел впервые в журнале "Техника - молодёжи", в конце 1070х - начале 1980х годов. Как иллюстрации к необычным концепциям.

Truly a very entertaining documentary, thank you very much for that. Escher left us a lot of thought, what a brilliant mind. Waarachtig een zeer onderhoudende documentaire, hartelijk dank daarvoor. Escher heeft ons veel denkwerk nagelaten wat een briljante geest.

A documentary on Escher's life is something I've been missing in mine, thank you!

Well thank you KZhead algorithm for suggesting this. That was absolutely a fantastic watch!!!

I'm speechless.

Monumental Artist. Great doc. Thanks. A lot.

one of the best documentary who I had ever seen , thank you for sharing

A truly psychedelic artist of the highest order.

This is one of the best documentaries about an artist I’ve ever seen. The landscapes and imagery chosen are frame by frame masterpieces in their own right, complimenting Etcher’s work in a way that I’m almost certain would have made him very happy. I’m sad every time I see fractals because he wasn’t around to experiment with that, probably he would have enjoyed those a lot as well.

Très apprécié 👌, grand Merci 💕 , de Québec 😉

Was introduced to Escher by my high school geometry textbook which was peppered by quite a few of these prints. Thanks to the author, Mr Jacobs.

Thank You - I had no idea about almost any of that. What a brilliant man.

Escher turned out to be a very talented artist and I think I would have liked him as a person, but on this occasion I would like to point out how the producers of this documentary have found so many points where M. C. Escher himself would have stood to look at the Italian sceneries. Good subject and very well covered.

Fabulous documentary, thank you so much for posting

One of the most famous 'male' unibrows in art history.

Fascinating, well informed, and well made documentary. Thank you.

Way back in the late 1970s I had several of his posters . Thank you for the upload . M.C. Escher worked way harder than I ever imagined . It's a shame he and his wife grew apart .

Very enjoyable documentary. Escher has always been a favorite of mine. I have several prints that hang around my house. Several years ago I needed to see a psyciatrist prior to having back surgery and he asked who my favorite artist was. After hearing me say Escher he produced a large signed print (No. 24/50) of Convex & Concave. As I was leaving he told me to take the print as it was given to him by a patient and he had nowhere hang it. I was overjoyed. I trust that it's of some value although I haven't found out what. I'm happy enough to just look at it.

I can get lost in his work for days

Brilliant artist 👍🤩

How amazing at the same time speechless his art speaks for its self as Master

One of my favorite artists.

Thank you. Have always loved his work. Interesting choice of soundtrack selections.

This was riveting. Thanks for posting this. I love the pace and biographical perspective.

I became aware of the genius of Escher when I was quite young. I was mesmerized by the complex transitions and the, almost impossible, drawings of everyday objects and scenarios. As I grew older, I refined my art skills, using an Escher inspired theory of anything is possible if you are willing to create with an open mind.

Beyond well done! The emotional ambulations left me exhausted and yet heightened by the exercise. Musically emoting all the feelings; the artwork and landscapes phasing in and through the choreography of a man's life, with historical gasps for breath inciting so piqued an interest, i was broadly depressed when it ended. There had to more more!

His art was unique in that it gave a visual representation of the new concepts that were taking the front of the scene in sciences, namely curved space and time and chaos.

thank you so much for uploading this.

I love jigsaw puzzles (with many, many pieces) of Escher’s works. The hours and hours one can spend happily in non-frustrating bliss.

Mesmerising and stunning art. A real genius.

I agree with him in that there's nothing more spectacular than walking around Rome at night. I love Italy.

Thank you for posting this. I have been fascinated by his talent since childhood; it was wonderful to have a peek into his life and inner world.

Absolutely Brilliant Documentary. Thankyou !!!

a beautiful documentary. Thank you for uploading this.