''Belvedere'' is a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

print by the Dutch artist

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...

, first printed in May 1958. It shows a plausible-looking belvedere building that is an impossible object, modelled after an impossible cube.

Imagery

In this lithograph, Escher uses two-dimensional images to depict objects free of the confines of the three-dimensional world. The image is of a rectangular, three-story building. The upper two floors are open at the sides, with the top floor and roof supported by pillars. From the viewer's perspective, all the pillars on the middle floor are the same size at both the front and back, but the pillars at the back are set higher. The viewer also sees by the corners of the top floor that it is at a different angle than the rest of the structure. All these elements make it possible for all the pillars on the middle floor to stand at right angles, yet the pillars at the front support the back side of the top floor while the pillars at the back support the front side. This

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

also allows a ladder to extend from the inside of the middle floor to the outside of the top floor. There is a man seated at the foot of the building holding an impossible cube. He appears to be constructing it from a diagram of a Necker cube at his feet, with the intersecting lines circled. The window next to him is closed with an iron grille that is geometrically valid, but practically impossible to assemble.

Influences

The woman about to climb the steps of the building is modeled after a figure from the right-hand panel of

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

's 1500 triptych ''

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' () is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panels painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. Bos ...

''. This panel is individually titled ''Hell''; a portion of it was recreated by Escher as a lithograph in 1935. The ridge in the background is part of the Morrone Mountains in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, that Escher had visited several times when living in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s.

Legacy

In 2012, Prof. Gershon Elber of Israel's Technion University, using specially designed CAD software and a 3D printer, created a 3D model of Belvedere and other impossible Escher structures, viewable only from one angle.Technion University video of Belvedere model
/ref>

References

Sources

* Locher, J. L. (2000). ''The Magic of M. C. Escher''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. . {{M. C. Escher 1958 prints Impossible objects Works by M. C. Escher