''Gravitation'' (also known as ''Gravity'') is a
mixed media
In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed.
Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...
work 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 ...
completed in June 1952. It was first printed as a black-and-white
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 ...
and then coloured by hand in
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
.
It depicts a
nonconvex regular polyhedron known as the
small stellated dodecahedron
In geometry, the small stellated dodecahedron is a Kepler–Poinsot polyhedron, named by Arthur Cayley, and with Schläfli symbol . It is one of four nonconvex List of regular polytopes#Non-convex 2, regular polyhedra. It is composed of 12 pentag ...
.
Each facet of the figure has a
trapezoid
In geometry, a trapezoid () in North American English, or trapezium () in British English, is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides.
The parallel sides are called the ''bases'' of the trapezoid. The other two sides are ...
al doorway. Out of these doorways protrude the heads and legs of twelve turtles without shells, who are using the object as a common shell. The turtles are in six coloured pairs (red, orange, yellow, magenta, green and indigo) with each turtle directly opposite its counterpart.
See also
*
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
References
Further reading
*Locher, J. L. (2000). ''The Magic of M. C. Escher''.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.
The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mary ...
.
Works by M. C. Escher
1952 prints
Turtles in art
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