# Maurits Cornelis Escher artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/maurits-cornelis-escher/
Profile generated: 2026-08-18T17:29:22.032Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Dutch
- Common media: Lithograph, Woodcut, Wood engraving, Mezzotint, Drawing and sketch, Book illustration

## Portrait

![Maurits Cornelis Escher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Maurits_Cornelis_Escher.jpg/1280px-Maurits_Cornelis_Escher.jpg)
Hans Peters for Anefo · CC0
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maurits_Cornelis_Escher.jpg

## About Maurits Cornelis Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972), commonly known as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist and printmaker. He worked especially in lithography, woodcut, and wood engraving, using the precision of printmaking to construct images in which architecture, viewpoint, and visual logic behave in unexpected ways. The British Museum identifies him with buildings and views presented through unusual perspectives, while his official website emphasizes the impossible constructions and transformation prints that became central to his reputation. Familiar examples include Relativity, Ascending and Descending, the Metamorphosis sequence, Sky & Water I, and Reptiles. Although his imagery is frequently discussed in relation to mathematics, the surviving works also demonstrate sustained command of traditional graphic processes. Collectors therefore encounter Escher through several kinds of material: individual impressions of recognized prints, other editioned graphic works, drawings and sketches, illustrated publications, and objects derived from or associated with his designs. Identifying the precise work, printing, edition, and physical state is essential.

## Common works and media

Auction and appraisal contexts most often involve works on paper, particularly lithographs, woodcuts, and wood engravings. Mezzotints, drawings, sketches, illustrated books, and other editioned material may also appear. Recurring imagery includes impossible buildings, altered viewpoints, transformation sequences, and mathematically inspired visual structures. Edition details, printing information, signatures, inscriptions, paper, margins, and condition should be recorded for any proposed Escher work.

## Market and appraisal context

Escher's market is centered on comparison between specific works and impressions rather than on the artist's name alone. Relevant evidence includes the printmaking process, dimensions, date, edition or printing information, signature and inscriptions, condition, provenance, exhibition history, catalogue references, and confidence in attribution. Subject matter and the relationship of an impression to recognized transformation or impossible-construction images may also affect comparability. Public auction results should be matched to examples with similar medium, image, edition status, size, and condition. Reported totals may use different fee conventions, while private sales, incomplete feeds, and later attribution changes may be absent. A final appraisal should therefore combine documentary identification, physical examination, and carefully selected recent comparables.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist-identity research with matched public auction records. When available, the evidence includes auction-house context, sale dates, reported realized prices, comparable lots, edition information, attribution, provenance, and condition notes. Private transactions and incomplete auction feeds may not be represented.

## Sources

- British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG170129
- Maurits Cornelis Escher: http://www.mcescher.com/
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/5051087/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1470
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/026852934
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/1757
- National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2492.html
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/maurits-cornelis-escher/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher
- Wikipedia: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurits_Cornelis_Escher