Plane Filling I

M.C. Escher became interested in mezzotint due to its tonal range, and printed eight editions in the medium between 1946 and 1951. Like many of Escher’s perceptually dizzying but impeccably calculated images, this black-and-white composition of interlocking fish, fowl, primitive nudes, and mythical beasts can be read in several ways. Its light and dark contrasts form an overall geometrical pattern, like a chessboard run amok, or a jigsaw puzzle writhing with mutating pieces. The creatures may not be far removed from Hieronymus Bosch’s Renaissance-era views of the underworld, but Escher’s claustrophobic, patterned landscape is also full of delight.