The Terrible Adventures of Scholastica: Illustration, Page 5 Netherlands

The Terrible Adventures of Scholastica: Illustration, Page 5

1931

Maurits Cornelis Escher

(Dutch, 1898–1972)

Netherlands

wood engraving

Support: Wove paper

Image: 22.9 x 16.7 cm (9 x 6 9/16 in.); Sheet: 32.2 x 24 cm (12 11/16 x 9 7/16 in.)

Gift of Michael S. Sachs 2004.79

Catalogue raisonné: Bool 191

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

The book for which this image was made takes place in Oudewater, a Dutch town famous in the 1500s for allowing people accused of witchcraft to prove their innocence. M. C. Escher presented a scene in which light and shadow play a crucial role, as witches appear in a domestic setting that features distinctive geometric repeating patterns found in his work in other media. He highlighted the characteristics of wood engraving by working in white lines as he carved away from the black background created by the uncut woodblock. Reflecting on the project, he regretted that “illustrating means adopting someone else’s ideas, whereas [I want] to visualize my own . . . thoughts.”