Pontone Framed

The Hilltown of Pontone, above Atrani on the Coast of Amalfi, Italy

Color drawing, signed with monogram, dated May 24, 1931 (12” X 9”)

ex collection of the M. C. Escher Foundation and  previously on loan
to the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Holland, and noted with their catalog number, verso

 

One of the only signed color drawings in all of Escher’s work, this landscape can be considered one of the finest unique pieces in private hands today. The terraced hillside above Atrani may have been the inspiration for the landscape behind Escher ‘Waterfall”, and similar geometric  terraces can be seen in the artist’s woodcut ‘Tetrahedral Planetoid.’ The distant hills are dramatic in the their majesty, and stand in startling contrast to the lush hills of the town.    

 

Testifying to the authenticity of this rare work, the drawing is noted on the reverse: “T-962-x-1971,” which is the inventory number under which this work from Escher’s personal collection was cataloged at the Gementemuseum, The Hague, whilst it were on loan from the Escher Foundation pursuant to the artist’s wishes.