Huis van Digna van Stolk 1954

M.C. Escher made this work, 'Huis van Digna van Stolk', in February 1954, probably with pencil on paper. The mark making is so careful, almost obsessive. There is a real joy in watching a mind at work, thinking through line. I am drawn to the roof tiles, where each one is given its own little stroke of the pencil. The texture is everything here, line after line describing a surface. It reminds me that art is labour, and that labour is a process of thinking as much as doing. Escher’s lines aren’t just lines, they are thoughts made visible. Escher worked with mathematically inspired patterns later in his career, I think this piece anticipates that interest in abstraction and visual systems, but it also has a deep connection to the world. It’s a reminder that even the most rational of minds are rooted in looking and drawing, in touch and experience.