Ringsnakes

(B.448) 1969 woodcut in brown, green, and black (19½” X 17 ½”)

Signed and noted ‘eigen druk’ (self-printed)

This is Escher’s last print, a creation he considered his masterpiece. After a lifetime spent making things visible that we see with our minds as well as our eyes, Escher faced a monumental struggle to bring his last artwork to completion. His health failing, he feared he would not live long enough to carve and print the three woodblocks that were required to create this masterpiece. “Ringsnakes” is complex in structure, execution, and meaning; expressing the duality of natural and perfect forms, the unity of all creation, and a sublime realization of the infinite.  Each ring intertwines with others, both larger and smaller. Only where Escher’s rings reach their largest size can they be inhabited by living creatures. The linked chains of “Ringsnakes” illustrate a pathway to and from infinity, interwoven with serpentine creatures whose writhing undulations unite them as they circumnavigate the cosmos and weave together perfection with the every-changing power of life.  “Ringsnakes” stands as the triumphant legacy of an artist who labored tirelessly in solitude and with endless diligence to express the wonders our eyes perceive and our mind struggles to comprehend.   

Below is a picture of the black block which was printed three times around to make this print. Similar blocks were created by Escher to print the brown of the snake and the green coloring in the rings. Each of these blocks had different joining-points at the edges, making the overlapping of the nine impressions required for this woodcut virtually undetectable.