The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 15, 2025
The Terrible Adventures of Scholastica: Illustration, Page 5
1931
(Dutch, 1898–1972)
author
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
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.”- Fairy Tales and Fables: Illustration and Storytelling in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 4-September 8, 2024).
- {{cite web|title=The Terrible Adventures of Scholastica: Illustration, Page 5|url=false|author=Maurits Cornelis Escher, Jan Walch|year=1931|access-date=15 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.79