Editing M. C. Escher (section)

== Legacy ==

[[File:Gevel Escher in Het Paleis 300 dpi.jpg|thumb|The [[Escher Museum]] in [[The Hague]]. The poster shows a detail from ''[[Day and Night (M. C. Escher)|Day and Night]]'', 1938.]]

=== In art collections ===

The Escher intellectual property is controlled by the M.C. Escher Company, while exhibitions of his artworks are managed separately by the M.C. Escher Foundation.{{efn|In 1969, Escher's business advisor, Jan W. Vermeulen, author of a biography on the artist, established the M.C. Escher Foundation, and transferred into this entity virtually all of Escher's unique work as well as hundreds of his original prints. These works were lent by the Foundation to the Hague Museum. Upon Escher's death, his three sons dissolved the Foundation, and they became partners in the ownership of the art works. In 1980, this holding was sold to an American art dealer and the Hague Museum. The Museum obtained all of the documentation and the smaller portion of the art works. The copyrights remained the possession of Escher's three sons&nbsp;– who later sold them to Cordon Art, a Dutch company. Control was subsequently transferred to The M.C. Escher Company B.V. of Baarn, Netherlands, which licenses use of the copyrights on all of Escher's art and on his spoken and written text. A related entity, the M.C. Escher Foundation of Baarn, promotes Escher's work by organizing exhibitions, publishing books and producing films about his life and work.<ref>{{cite web |title=Copyrights&Licensing |url=http://www.mcescher.com/licensing/ |website=M.C. Escher |access-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108203426/http://www.mcescher.com/licensing/ |archive-date=8 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=M.C. Escher Foundation |url=http://www.mcescher.com/foundation/ |website=M.C. Escher |access-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107185518/http://www.mcescher.com/foundation/ |archive-date=7 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

The primary institutional collections of original works by M.C. Escher are exhibited at the [[Escher Museum]] in [[The Hague]] (which are part of the large collection of the Kunstmuseum there<ref>{{Cite web |title=Escher |url=https://www.kunstmuseum.nl/en/collections/escher |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.kunstmuseum.nl |language=en}}</ref>); the [[National Gallery of Art]] (Washington, DC);<ref>{{cite web |title=Tour: M.C. Escher — Life and Work |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggescher/ggescher-main1.html |publisher=National Gallery of Art |access-date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223095836/http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggescher/ggescher-main1.html |archive-date=23 December 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> the [[National Gallery of Canada]] (Ottawa);<ref>{{cite web |title=Collections: M.C. Escher |url=http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=1655 |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |access-date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801122239/http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=1655 |archive-date=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Israel Museum]] (Jerusalem);<ref>{{cite web|title=May 2013 (newsletter)|url=http://www.imj.org.il/news/eng/2013/May.html|publisher=Israel Museum Jerusalem|access-date=4 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705195240/http://www.imj.org.il/news/eng/2013/May.html|archive-date=5 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)|Huis ten Bosch]] (Nagasaki, Japan).<ref>{{cite web|title=M. C. Escher|url=http://www.huistenbosch.co.jp/event/escher/|publisher=Huis Ten Bosch Museum, Nagasaki|access-date=4 November 2015|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009075653/http://www.huistenbosch.co.jp/event/escher/|archive-date=9 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Exhibitions ===

[[File:Escher Poster Dulwich Picture Gallery 2015.jpg|thumb|upright|Poster advertising the first major exhibition of Escher's work in Britain ([[Dulwich Picture Gallery]], 14 October 2015&nbsp;– 17 January 2016). The image, which shows Escher and his interest in geometric distortion and multiple levels of distance from reality, is based on his ''[[Hand with Reflecting Sphere]]'', 1935.<ref name=Dulwich/><ref name=NGA/>]]

Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for a long time somewhat neglected in the art world; even in his native Netherlands, he was 70 before a retrospective exhibition was held.<ref name=Poole />{{efn|Steven Poole comments "The artist [Escher] who created some of the most memorable images of the 20th century was never fully embraced by the art world."<ref name=Poole />}} In the twenty-first century, major exhibitions have been held in cities around the world.<ref name=ArtDaily /><ref name=NGAWhatson /><ref name=Treviso /> An exhibition of his work in Rio de Janeiro attracted more than 573,000 visitors in 2011;<ref name=ArtDaily>{{cite web |title=Exhibition of works by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher opens at Soestdijk Palace in Baarn |url=http://artdaily.com/index_iphone.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=57170#.VkstP-IvuHg |website=Artdaily |access-date=17 November 2015 |archive-date=19 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119165631/http://artdaily.com/index_iphone.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=57170#.VkstP-IvuHg |url-status=dead }}</ref> its daily visitor count of 9,677 made it the most visited museum exhibition of the year, anywhere in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Top-attended museum show of 2011 is a surprise; also L.A. numbers |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2012/03/museum-attendance-2011.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=18 November 2015 |date=26 March 2013 |quote=The exhibition was ranked No. 1 based on daily visitors. It saw 9,677 visitors a day, according to the Art Newspaper.}}</ref> No major exhibition of Escher's work was held in Britain until 2015, when the [[Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art]] ran one in [[Edinburgh]] from June to September 2015,<ref name=NGAWhatson>{{cite web |title=The Amazing World of M.C. Escher |url=https://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/on-now-coming-soon/the-amazing-world-of-m-c-escher/ |publisher=[[National Galleries Scotland]] |access-date=1 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118111315/https://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/on-now-coming-soon/the-amazing-world-of-m-c-escher/ |archive-date=18 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> moving in October 2015 to the [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]], London. The exhibition poster is based on ''[[Hand with Reflecting Sphere]]'', 1935, which shows Escher in his house reflected in a handheld sphere, thus illustrating the artist, his interest in [[semiotics|levels of reality]] in art (e.g., is the hand in the foreground more real than the reflected one?), [[perspective (graphical)|perspective]], and [[spherical geometry]].<ref name=NGA>{{cite web |title=M.C. Escher — Life and Work |url=http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/mc-escher-life-and-work.html#slide_11 |website=The Collection, National Gallery of Art |publisher=National Gallery of Art, Washington |access-date=1 November 2015 |quote=Escher and the interior of his studio in Rome are reflected in the mirrored sphere that he holds in his hand. Escher's preoccupation with mirrored reflections and visual illusion belongs to a tradition of northern European art established in the fifteenth century.}}</ref><ref name=Dulwich>{{cite web |title=The Amazing World of M.C. Escher |url=http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2015/october/the-amazing-world-of-m-c-escher/ |publisher=Dulwich Picture Gallery |access-date=1 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101033350/http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2015/october/the-amazing-world-of-m-c-escher |archive-date=1 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hand with Reflecting Sphere, 1935 |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggescher/ggescher-47949.html |website=The Collection, National Gallery of Art |publisher=National Gallery of Art, Washington |access-date=1 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225164242/http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggescher/ggescher-47949.html |archive-date=25 December 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The exhibition moved to Italy in 2015–2016, attracting over 500,000 visitors in Rome and Bologna,<ref name=Treviso>{{cite web |title=Escher. Santa Caterina Complex |url=http://www.italytravellerguide.com/evento/paese/treviso-467/escher-2144.aspx |website=Italy Traveller Guide|access-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117134703/http://www.italytravellerguide.com/evento/paese/treviso-467/escher-2144.aspx |archive-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> and then [[Milan]].<ref name=Milan>{{cite web|url=http://www.mostraescher.it|title=Mostra Escher Milano}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://chiostrodelbramante.it/en/info/escher/ |title=Chiostro del Bramante, Rome |access-date=7 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008212757/http://chiostrodelbramante.it/en/info/escher/ |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/exhibitions/current/details/m-c-escher-the-mathemagician-8228 |title=Exhibitions: M.C. Escher: The Mathemagician |publisher=[[National Gallery of Canada]] |access-date=7 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052313/http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/exhibitions/current/details/m-c-escher-the-mathemagician-8228 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2023, the [[Kunstmuseum Den Haag|Kunstmuseum]] in the Hague created a large retrospective of Escher, entitled 'Escher - Other World'.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-07 |title=Escher - Other World {{!}} Kunstmuseum Den Haag |url=https://www.kunstmuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/escher-other-world |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.kunstmuseum.nl |language=en}}</ref>

=== In mathematics and science ===

[[File:Leeuwarden - Tegeltableau Escher.jpg|thumb|Wall tableau of one of Escher's bird tessellations at the [[Princessehof Ceramics Museum]] in Leeuwarden]]

[[Doris Schattschneider]] identifies eleven strands of mathematical and scientific research anticipated or directly inspired by Escher. These are the classification of regular tilings using the edge relationships of tiles: two-color and two-motif tilings ([[Dichromatic symmetry|counterchange symmetry or antisymmetry]]); color symmetry (in [[crystallography]]); metamorphosis or [[topology|topological]] change; covering surfaces with symmetric patterns; Escher's algorithm (for generating patterns using decorated squares); creating tile shapes; local versus global definitions of regularity; symmetry of a tiling induced by the symmetry of a tile; orderliness not induced by symmetry groups; the filling of the central void in Escher's lithograph ''[[Print Gallery (M. C. Escher)|Print Gallery]]'' by H. Lenstra and B. de Smit.<ref name=MathSide />

The [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1980 | title=The Prizes | year=1980 | publisher=Pulitzer}}</ref> 1979 book ''[[Gödel, Escher, Bach]]'' by [[Douglas Hofstadter]]<ref>{{cite book | last=Hofstadter | first=Douglas R. |author-link=Douglas Hofstadter | title=Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid | publisher=Basic Books | year=1999 | orig-year=1979 | isbn=978-0-465-02656-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/gdelescherbachet00hofs }}</ref> discusses the ideas of self-reference and [[strange loop]]s expressed in Escher's art. The [[asteroid]] [[4444 Escher]] was named in Escher's honor in 1985.<ref name="Schmadel2012">{{cite book |last=Schmadel |first=Lutz D.|title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aeAg1X7afOoC&pg=PA359 |year=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-29718-2 |page=359}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===

{{main|M. C. Escher in popular culture}}

Escher's fame in popular culture grew when his work was featured by [[Martin Gardner]] in his April 1966 [[Mathematical Games column|"Mathematical Games" column]] in ''[[Scientific American]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/stewart/?_r=0 |title=Ignited by Martin Gardner, Ian Stewart Continues to Illuminate |quote=It was Martin Gardner who was instrumental in spreading the awareness and understanding of Escher’s work |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 October 2014 |access-date=2 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121184322/https://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/stewart/?_r=0 |archive-date=21 January 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Escher's works have appeared on many album covers including [[The Scaffold]]'s 1969 ''L the P'' with ''Ascending and Descending''; [[Mott the Hoople]]'s eponymous 1969 record with ''Reptiles'', [[Beaver & Krause]]'s 1970 ''In A<!--sic--> Wild Sanctuary'' with ''Three Worlds''; and [[Mandrake Memorial]]'s 1970 ''Puzzle'' with ''House of Stairs'' and (inside) ''Curl Up''.{{efn|These and further albums are listed by Coulthart.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coulthart |first1=John |title=MC Escher album covers |url=http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2013/02/07/mc-escher-album-covers/ |access-date=2 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217035851/http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2013/02/07/mc-escher-album-covers/ |archive-date=17 February 2013|date=7 February 2013 }}</ref>}} His works have similarly been used on many book covers, including some editions of [[Edwin Abbott Abbott|Edwin Abbott]]'s ''Flatland'', which used ''Three Spheres''; [[Ernst Gombrich|E. H. Gombrich]]'s ''Meditations on a Hobby Horse'' with ''Horseman''; Pamela Hall's ''Heads You Lose'' with ''Plane Filling 1''; Patrick A. Horton's ''Mastering the Power of Story'' with ''Drawing Hands''; [[Erich Gamma]] et al.'s ''Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-oriented software'' with ''Swans''; and Arthur Markman's ''Knowledge Representation'' with ''Reptiles''.{{efn|These and further books are listed by Bailey.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=David |title=M. C. Escher Miscellany |url=http://www.tess-elation.co.uk/m-c-escher-miscellany |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508182728/http://www.tess-elation.co.uk/m-c-escher-miscellany |archive-date=8 May 2017}}</ref>}} The "World of Escher" markets [[poster]]s, [[necktie]]s, [[T-shirt]]s, and [[jigsaw puzzle]]s of Escher's artworks.<ref>{{cite news|title=M.C. Escher: An Artist for the Web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/28/technology/28ESCH.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=7 November 2015|date=28 September 2000}}</ref> Both Austria and the Netherlands have issued [[postage stamp]]s commemorating the artist and his works.<ref name="hathaway1972" />