''Snakes'' is a
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...
print by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
artist
M. C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints.
Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in t ...
. The work was first printed in July 1969 and was Escher's last print before his death.
''Snakes'' depicts a disc made up of interlocking circles that grow progressively smaller towards the center and towards the edge. There are three snakes laced through the edge of the disc. The image is printed in three colors: green, brown, and black. The use of snakes and the color palette of this composition recalls an earlier woodcut by the artist, ''Möbius Strip I'' (1960).
The print has
rotational symmetry
Rotational symmetry, also known as radial symmetry in geometry, is the property a shape has when it looks the same after some rotation by a partial turn. An object's degree of rotational symmetry is the number of distinct orientations in which i ...
of an order
3, comprising a single wedge-shaped image repeated three times in a circle. This means that it was printed from three blocks that were rotated on a pin to make three impressions each. Close inspection reveals the central mark left by the pin.
In several earlier works, Escher explored the limits of infinitesimal size and infinite number, for example, the ''
Circle Limit'' series, by actually carrying through the rendering of smaller and smaller figures to the smallest possible sizes. By contrast, in ''Snakes'', the infinite diminution of size – and infinite increase in number – is only suggested in the finished work. Nevertheless, the print shows very clearly how this rendering would have been carried out to the limits of human visibility.
Further reading
* J. L. Locker, ''The Magic of M. C. Escher'', Harry N. Abrams, 2000.
References
External links
A 3-dimensional animation based on Escher's printA video of the artist making the print.
1969 paintings
Snakes in art
Woodcuts
Works by M. C. Escher
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