Ex Libris. T. de Ridder 1918

M.C. Escher made this bookplate, Ex Libris. T. de Ridder, as a woodcut and from what I can see he used a simple, graphic approach, sticking to black and white with sharp contrasts. It's all about the dance between light and shadow here. You can almost feel the cut of the block, like each mark was carved with intention. The way he contrasts textures, those spiky rays against the solid shapes of the knight and horse create a lovely push-pull across the whole surface. Check out the knight's armor, all these intricate lines suggesting depth and form with just a few well-placed cuts. It's kind of amazing. Escher’s experiments with representing multiple dimensions and perspectives are all over his practice. Think of how artists like Josef Albers play with simple shapes and colors to create complex spatial effects. In a way it’s all about illusion and perception, what we see and what we think we see.