M.C. Escher [Hardcover]

Doris Schattschneider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

The author deals with one powerful motif in Escher's work - the puzzlelike interlocking of birds, fish and other natural forms in continuous patterns. His methods are examined through a meticulous analysis of his notebooks and an an epilogue reveals new information about Escher's inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Doris Schattschneider received her Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University and taught at Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for 34 years. She is the author of the best-selling model kit M. C. Escher Kaleidocycles and co-editor of the book and CD-ROM M.C. Escher's Legacy: A Centennial Celebration. She has served as editor-in-chief of Mathematics Magazine and in 1993 she received the national MAA Award for Distinguished Teaching of College or University Mathematics. Douglas R. Hofstadter is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. A mathematician, physicist, and computer scientist, he is professor of computer science and cognitive science at Indiana University. Recently, Wired magazine called him "the most remarkable researcher in artificial intelligence today." --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; First edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500511691
• ISBN-13: 978-0500511695
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,478,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Comprehensive Study of M. C. Escher's Works., June 29, 2005

By 

Noshir M. Khambatta (DURHAM, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (New Edition) (Hardcover)

It is most gratifying to note that at large, it is a professor of Mathematics who was inspired to collect the materials and compile this most penetrating study on the works of M. C. Escher. That professor is Dr. Doris Schattschneider and her latest publication "M. C. Escher : Visions of Symmetry" is a life's labour of love at collecting, classifying and indexing the works of M. C. Escher in a single volume. The book opens with a stunning photograph of M. C. Escher and a penetrating one-page foreword by Douglas R. Hofstadter.

Who then is M. C. Escher and what is his global appeal? Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic and wood-cut artist, who for decades working in isolation, single handedly produced the most haunting, fascinating and intriguing works of tesselation, the kind, the world had not seen before. His obsession with visual patterns built by the intricate interlocking of shapes that repeat and repeat forever, filling every crack in the regular plane, made it almost into a visual poetry. What is remarkable is that an artist single handedly learned by himself, the mathematical laws of the plane symmetry group including all it's isometries (i.e. translations, rotations, reflections and glide reflections) as he produced year after year patterns with interlocking shapes of unmatched beauty and provocation. He saw symmetry and beauty where others saw only a senseless repetiton. One can spend hours describing the various feelings brought out by a single image, suffice to say it would require a multi volume encyclopedia to describe in detail all that is collected in this single tome. I am flabbergasted that this book sells on the internet for as low as US $11.00. It is worth it's weight in precious diamonds. Thanks a million Doris, for doing such amicable justice to a great artist, and for providing us such a timeless treasure.

26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the casual Escher fan., February 3, 2006

By 

Imagine Reason "Imagine" (Earth) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (New Edition) (Hardcover)

Make no mistake. This isn't a comprehensive book for the Escher fan who wants to look at all his pretty pictures. It is a highly academic (no problem there, unless you're looking for, like I said, pretty pictures) book that focuses on basic patterns. It doesn't have many of the drawings that introduced me to his work in the first place. It's not the coffee-table book I was looking for, but that's my problem. It does have volumes of text for the so-inclined.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource; bueatiful reproductions, February 18, 2010

By 

lorax "lorax" (Jacksonville, FL, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (New Edition) (Hardcover)

This is a very in-depth examination of Esher's work, including the mathematics behind his symmetries. This book is a must for Escher fans. If you aren't a fan, this book may make you one.