MAURITS C ESCHER 1898 1972 Vase

Sale 2710 - Lot 22

Price Realized: $ 11,250

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000

MAURITS C. ESCHER (1898 - 1972)
Vase.

Woodcut on thin Japan paper, 1931. 176x137 mm; 7x5⅜ inches, wide margins. One of two proofs hand-printed by the artist, aside from the book edition of 300. Signed in pencil, lower left. From XXIV Emblemata. Bool 162.

ProvenanceG.J. Hoogewerff.
Private collection, Connecticut.

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Additional Details

The idea for XXIV Emblemata came under the suggestion of admirer and famed art historian, G. J. Hoogewerff, director of the Dutch Historical Institute in Rome, where Escher was living at the time. Shortly before the start of the project, Escher had been experiencing health and financial issues, pushing him to abandon his artistic career. Hoogewerff encouraged Escher to explore the idea of the emblem, as he had always equated his work to that of the Dutch Old Masters where this artistic convention was at its peak. The two collaborated, with Hoogewerff writing the text to accompany the woodcuts under the pseudonym A. E. Drijfhout. While still making reference to traditional motifs, such as the lute, Escher places emphasis on modern quotidian scenes, like the floral still life seen here. Although the project wasn't met with initial success, this collaboration catapulted Escher's career with Hoogewerff writing a feature on Escher's work for notable artistic literary journal, Elsevier. Just months later Escher held his first exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands showcasing his woodcuts, and a year later XXIV Emblemata was published.