M.C. Escher

16 Apr, 2026 760 Printmaking and prints

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), the graphic artist and printmaker best known for his impossible buildings, paradoxical perspectives, and repeating geometric patterns. Born in Leeuwarden and trained as a printmaker, Escher visited the Alhambra in Granada and found inspiration in the tessellating shapes of Islamic art. Through his career he went on to create some of the most famous images of the twentieth century and has been called a one-man art movement. After his work was exhibited in a 1954 conference, Escher’s work also caught the eye of mathematicians who appreciated his intuitive geometric precision. Escher was influenced by their work, and they were influenced by his - despite Escher never thinking he was actually very good at maths himself.

→ Listen on BBC Sounds website

Guests

  • Marcus du Sautoy 16 episodes
    Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Professor of Mathematics and Fellow of New College, University of Oxford
  • Sarah Hart No other episodes
    Professor Emerita of Mathematics and Fellow of Birkbeck, University of London, and Fellow of Gresham College
  • Judith Kadee No other episodes
    Exhibitions project manager and public programme curator at Hague Historical Museum

Reading list

  • Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity
    Marcus du Sautoy (Fourth Estate, 2025) Google Books →
  • Finding Moonshine: A Mathematician's Journey Into Symmetry
    Marcus du Sautoy (Harper Perennial, 2009) Google Books →
  • The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher
    Bruno Ernst (Taschen, 2007) Google Books →
  • M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work
    M.C. Escher (Taschen America Llc, 1992) Google Books →
  • The Life and Works of Escher
    Miranda Fellows (Siena, 1996) Google Books →
  • Escher op reis or Escher's Journey
    Frederico Giudiceandrea (Publisher Wbooks, 2018)
  • Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
    Douglas Hofstadter (Basic Books, 1999) Google Books →
  • King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, The Man Who Saved Geometry
    Siobhan Roberts (Profile Books, 2007) Google Books →
  • M.C. Escher. Tra arte e scienza. Catalogo della mostra
    Claudio Salsi, Paolo Branca and Claudio Bartocci (eds.) (24 Ore Cultura, 2025) Google Books →
  • The Mathematical Side of M.C. Escher
    Doris Schattschneider (Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 2010)
  • M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry
    Doris Schattschneider (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2004) Google Books →
  • Nadir & Zenith in the World of Escher
    Wouter van Reek (Leopold, 2019) Google Books →

Related episodes

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Programme ID: m002v19c

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002v19c

Auto-category: 769.92 (Graphic arts - Individual artists)