Maurits Cornelis Escher was a dutch artist most vividly remembered for his mathematical art (spatial illusions, strangely impossible buildings, and repeating geometric patterns called tesselations) and his talent with woodcutting and lithography.
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Maurits Cornelis Escher is born in Leeuwarden, the third son of G.A. Escher, an engineer, and his second wife, a government minister's daughter, in the house which later becomes the Princessehof Museum.
Escher's family moves to Arnhem, Holland.
Escher attends secondary school in Arnhem.
Escher completes his first graphic work, a linoleum cut in purple of his father, G.A. Escher.
Escher's family moves to Oosterbeek, Holland.
Escher attends Technical College in Delft.
Escher attends the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem; he takes lessons from S. Jessurun de Mesquita, a vitally important figure in Escher's life and work.
Escher takes a holiday trip with parents along the French Riviera and through Italy.
The booklet 'Flor de Pascua', by A.P. van Stolk, illustrated with woodcuts by Escher, is published.
Escher produces 'Eight Heads', a woodcut and his first regular division of the plane.
Escher takes trip through Northern Italy.
Escher travels by freighter to Tarragona; the trip continues through Spain and he makes his first visit to the Alhambra, the Moorish palace in Grenada; he travels on to Italy, where he lives from November 1922 until 1935.
Escher stays in Ravello, where he meets his future wife Jetta Umiker, the daughter of a Swiss industrialist, then goes back to Sienna.
Escher's first one-man exhibition is held in Sienna, 'Circolo Artistico'.
Escher moves to Rome.
Escher's first exhibition is held in Holland.
Escher and Jetta are married.
Escher and Jetta return to Rome and live in their own home.
Escher has an exhibition in Rome, 'Gruppo Romano Incisori Artisti'.
Escher's first son George A. Escher is born.
Escher takes yearly spring trips through inhospitable areas of Italy.
Escher's second son Arthur E. Escher is born.
During a visit to his parents, Escher makes his first lithograph, 'Goriano Sicoli, Abruzzi', a mountain village in the Abruzzi.
The book 'XXIV Emblemata', with epigrams by A.E. Drijfhout and woodcuts by Escher, is published in the summer.
The book 'De vreeselijke avonturen van Scholastica', by Jan Walch and woodcuts by Escher, is published in the fall.
Escher is awarded third prize for his lithograph 'Nonza, Corsica' at an exhibition in Chicago.
Escher exhibits at the Dutch Historical Institute in Rome.
Escher travels through Sicily.
The Escher family moves to Switzerland.
Escher takes a sea trip along the coasts of Italy and France to Spain, he makes his second visit to the Alhambra and also visits the mosque in Cordoba, Spain. This is a pivotal point in Escher's work - he moves from landscapes to 'mental imagery', the graphic works and tilings.
The first 'Metamorphosis' is made. The Escher family moves to Brussels, Belgium.
Escher's third son Jan C. Escher is born.
Escher's father dies.
Escher works on 'Metamorphosis II'.
The German's invade the Low Countries.
Escher's mother dies.
The German occupation forces the Escher's to move to The Netherlands.
The family moves to Baarn, Holland where Escher resides for the rest of his life. Five intarsia panels by Escher are placed in Leiden Town Hall.
The Germans arrest Escher's teacher, S. Jessurun de Mesquita. He is never seen again.
Escher organizes a memorial exhibition in honor of Mesquita and begins the study of the mezzotint technique.
Articles on Escher are published in 'The Studio' (Feb), 'Time' (Apr 2), and 'Life' (May 7) magazines.
Each year Escher makes a sea voyage to and/or from Italy.
Escher has a large one-man exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam on the occasion of the International Mathematical Conference. He meets Canadian professor H.S.M. Coxeter.
Escher exhibits in the Whyte Gallery, Washington, D.C. Sells more than 100 prints.
The Escher's move to a new home in Baarn.
Escher is knighted, he receives the Knighthood of the Order of Oranje Nassau.
Escher meets Bruno Ernst.
Early in the year Escher's book 'Regelmatige vlak verdeling' (The Regular Division of the Plane), written and illustrated by Escher is published.
'Grafiek en tekeningen M.C. Escher' (The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher) is published.
Escher meets Caroline H. MacGillavry, professor of crystallography at Amsterdam University.
He meets L.S. and Roger Penrose who become important in later works.
Escher holds an exhibition and lectures in conjunction with the Congress of the International Union of Crystallography in Cambridge, England.
Escher takes a sea voyage to Canada.
Escher lectures at MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts.
Escher crosses the Mediterranean by boat for the last time.
'The Saturday Evening Post' (Jul 29) publishes an article on Escher by E.H. Gombrich.
Escher is admitted to hospital for an emergency operation; he takes a long time to recover.
Escher and Jetta fly to Canada; he falls ill again and has to undergo another operation in Toronto.
Escher is awarded the cultural prize of the city of Hilversum.
'Symmetry Aspects of M.C. Escher's Periodic Drawings' by Caroline H. MacGillavry, a crystallographer, is published.
An article on Escher appears in the October issue of 'Jardin des Arts'.
Scientific American publishes a long article on Escher in its April issue.
Escher designs 'Metamorphosis III' for post office in The Hague, unveiled Feb 20, 1969.
Escher exhibits in Washington, D.C. (Mickelson Gallery) and The Hague (Gemeentemuseum), at the end of the year Jetta leaves for Switzerland, Escher lives on his own with a housekeeper. The Escher Foundation is set up.
Escher makes his last graphic work, a woodcut, 'Snakes'.
In the spring Escher is readmitted to the hospital for another major operation.
Escher moves to the Rosa Spier house in Laren.
A film about Escher is shown at the Osaka World Fair.
'De werelden van M.C. Escher' (The World of M.C. Escher, 1972) is published.
Escher dies, at the age of 73, in the hospital in Hilversum.