Artists

M.C. Escher

Press release

After a decade, MUDEC marks the return to Milan of one of the most captivating and iconic artists, Maurits Cornelis Escher (Netherlands, 1898 – 1972). This major exhibition project, entirely dedicated to the Dutch master, offers a new look at his artistic career.

Featuring 90 works by Escher – including engravings, watercolors, woodcuts, and lithographs – along with over 40 Islamic comparison objects, the exhibition explores the artist’s relationship with his sources of inspiration. It traces his evolution from his early days influenced by Art Nouveau, to the discovery of Italian landscapes, up to his full maturity, marked by tessellations, metamorphic cycles, optical illusions, and representations of infinity, that made him famous thanks to a unique visual language that combines art and mathematics.

This mathematics is not composed of the abstract reasoning of professional academics, but is instead born of a lengthy, meticulous, and passionate effort, rooted in a more intuitive and perceptual approach. Escher’s creations blend art and science with a disciplined, inventive, and intensely personal perspective, creating a unifying theme that distinctly marks the exhibition.

The exhibition also sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of his career: his deep connection withIslamic art. Key characteristics of Islamic aesthetics – such as symmetry, modular repetition, and abstract spatial vision – played a crucial role in helping Escher move beyond the naturalistic representation of reality.

Finally, the exhibition centres on Escher, who integrated this ‘graphic universe’ into his stylistic identity, even throughout his wide-ranging commercial work. The exhibition showcases how Escher’s remarkable talent was applied to different realms of graphic design.

Enriching the itinerary is a series of immersive multimedia installations by Maurits Srl, including a final Infinity Room that takes visitors into a fascinating immersive environment with a kaleidoscopic effect, thanks to the projection of high-definition animations inside a mirrored room.

Produced by 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo 24 OREand promoted by the Municipality of Milano-Cultura with the support of the sponsor Turisanda1924, part of Alpitour World, the exhibition is in collaboration with the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and made possible thanks to M.C. Escher Foundation.

The scientific committee, supported by the M. C. Escher Foundation and coordinated by Federico Giudiceandrea, on the concept of Judith Kadee, Curator of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, is composed of curators Claudio Bartocci, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Geometry at the University of Genoa – for the exploration of Escher’s links with mathematical and scientific aspects – Paolo Branca, Professor of Arabic Language and Culture at the Cattolica University of Milan – to investigate the relationship with Islamic art – and Claudio Salsi, Professor of History of Design, Engraving and Graphics at the Cattolica University of Milan – for insight into the graphic production of the artist.

Far from the trends of his time, M.C. Escher developed a unique visual language that brought together East and West, intuition and logic, scientific precision and imagination. A bridge between worlds that only seem distant – one that still amazes, provokes thought, and inspires today.