Off and Running

Dave in the Gemeentemuseum library

My research is off and running, just like the characters in the Escher print Cycle from 1938. As Amy mentioned, we spent several hours in the Gemeentemuseum library (open only by appointment) looking at books about Escher. Some I had seen, others were in Dutch, some were small catalogs, and others I had never seen. I was able to get some additional information from them and would like to get our library to purchase a few more books on Escher. I am really looking forward to our visit with the archivist tomorrow.

M.C. Escher, Cycle, 1938

After a quick bite to eat, we visited some of the Gemeentemuseum collections. There were a number of interesting artworks on display. My favorites were 3 Escher prints tucked away in a corner; one was Cycle (shown above), where Escher morphs a landscape into a set of interlocking figures. If you look carefully, you can find three different places where three figures (black, white, and gray) pivot around a point. Specifically, the heel, the forehead, and the knee. These are a gyration points of order three because at each point there are three possible positions for the person without changing the underlying overall pattern. These three gyration points are a characteristic that defines this type of pattern. Note this pattern is significantly different from the pattern found in 8 Heads. I was very excited to see these prints up close and in person. It is amazing to see the level of detail and tonality Escher achieved in theses works.

We left the museum and returned to our hotel to finally check into our room. It is about a 20 minute walk. Spring has arrive in The Hague. The grass is green and the daffodils, forsythia, and magnolias are blooming. Our hotel is small, but very nice. We have free wifi in our room which makes blogging and email much easier. We power-napped for about an hour and then went to a little Italian place for dinner. We are both ready for a good night of sound sleeping!