작품 상세

Escher, M.C. (1898-1972). Lot of 15 glazed majolica tiles, each 19x19x1,5 cm., decorated with a pattern of brown and green lines on an off-white ground (in 4 different variants) by M.C. ESCHER. - Some sl. overall wear; a few sm. chips/ dents, mainly along margins. Partly w. remnants of cement on the back. = A unique set of the tiles that Escher designed for his studio at the Via Alessandro Poerio 94 [now renumb. 122] in Rome. W. Hazeu, M.C. Escher, een biografie (1998), p.122 ("Escher had met zijn vrouw de Romeinse woning origineel ingericht. (...). De vloer van de gang en de eetkamer werd voorzien van majolica-tegels die Escher zelf had ontworpen. Het waren witte tegels met een eenvoudig lijnpatroon in diverse kleuren, dat van de ene tegel op de andere aansloot. Elke gekleurde lijn kon van de ene wand al zigzaggend naar de andere worden gevolgd. Het leek op een mozaïekvloer in een Arabisch huis"); F.H. Bool, J.L. Locher a.o., Leven en werk van M.C. Escher (1981), p.34 (photograph of the living room of the Escher family, w. part of the floor w. the same tiles) and p.46; and at large D. Schattschneider, M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry (rev. ed. 2004), p.12, 56 and 84ff: "(...) in 1926 Echer designed majolica tiles which were manufactured for the floor of the family apartment in Rome, as well as for his studio on the floor above. The design, painted on white tiles, was a geometric meander, interlacing two different colored ribbons that twisted on a path of many right-angled turns and filled out a large square. It could well have been inspired by similar designs which he had seen in the Alhambra. In 1942 he recorded the designs of the four individual tiles, as well as the scheme of the whole thing (...). While Escher may have intended his young sons to enjoy following the mazelike path of the ribbons, in later years the children found additional enjoyment in the tile floor. George recalls, "The tiles had not been properly laid and most of them had worked loose, so that they tipped slightly when you walked on them. For the children it was good fun to race through the house on a tricyle because the tiles would rattle in a very satisfying way - which was less appreciated by the people living below"." (p.12); "In addition to the theory notebook, Escher kept another notebook of the same size to collect finished regular division drawings with purely geometrical motifs, as well as some geometric studies that were preparatory to making some regular division designs with special properties. (...) One of these is Escher's 1926 design for the majolica-tiled floors for the apartment and studio in Rome, together with a detailed scheme of the layout for the tiles." (p.56); "In total, 4 types of tiles are needed - 2 for the center filling and two for the border (...). For the painting of the tiles, only 2 stencils are needed: one can serve for both A and A', and the other for B and B'. (...) In 1926 the majolica factory of Avalone in Vietri-sul-Mare delivered tiles for the [floor] covering of the hallway (in red and blue) and of the studio (in green and brown) tot the apartment of M.C. Escher in Rome, via Alessandro Poerio 94, Monte Verde." (p.85, citing (translated) from the notebook by Escher). All four mentioned variants present: A (4 copies), A' (5 copies), B (3 copies) and B' (3 copies). Provenance: the studio of the Italian sculptor Alberto Ricci, who lived at the via Alessandro Poerio 122 in the late 20th cent. SEE ILLUSTRATION PLATE XXXVIII. Idem. Set of 9 glazed majolica tiles, each 19x19x1,5 cm., decorated with a pattern of brown and green lines on a brown and yellow ground (in 3 different variants) by M.C. ESCHER. - Condition similar to the above. = Nothing could be traced on these designs, which have the same provenance as the above.