This document provides an overview of the Dutch artist M.C. Escher and his work with tessellations. It defines tessellations as arrangements of shapes that cover an area without overlaps through repetition and pattern. While tessellations have existed for centuries, Escher was a modern artist in the early 1900s who incorporated them into his abstract and expressionistic artworks, finding inspiration in mathematics. Some of his most famous works that used tessellations include Lions from 1925 and Regular Division of the Plane with Birds from 1949.

1. M.C. Escher
Lesson By:
George Canfield
Jocelyne Schneider

2. Guided vocabulary, write these down!
Tessellation
Repetition
Pattern
Modern Artist
Symmetry

3. A tessellation is an arrangement of closed
shapes put together, completely covering
an area without any overlaps.
Tessellations show
repetition by taking a
shape and repeating it
in a sequence, forming
a pattern.

4. Tessellations have been around for
centuries, originating in the mathematical
world.
They were first documented in 1619 by
Johannes Kepler.
They were used largely for tile designs for
floors, walls, and even ceilings!
Later in the early 1900’s, tessellations
entered the art world by M.C. Escher.

5. Escher is a modern
artist, who veered away from
the traditional subject matter
of realism, heading towards
more abstract and
expressionistic art.
His interest in mathematics
inspired him to create his
famous tessellations.
1898-1972
Dutch Artist

6. Lions, 1925
Escher’s 1st tessellation
printed in gold & silver on silk

7. Regular Division of the Plane with Birds,1949
Wood Engraving

8. M.C. Escher’s Symmetry Gallery

9. M.C. Escher’s Symmetry Gallery

10. 1. Cut your own design in the construction
paper. This will be your template for your
pattern.
2. Place this template on your
paper, starting in the upper left corner.
3. Trace the template.
4. Move it to the right and repeat, going row
by row.
5. Color it in!

11. Instead of a basic shape, we challenge you
to create an animal or another object for a
tessellation template. Think about M.C.
Escher and his own tessellations.
Are you up for the challenge?

12. Check out these other websites!
http://www.mcescher.com/
http://users.rcn.com/ziring/escher_bio.htm
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/escher_mc.html
http://eschergallery.com/gallery.html
http://www.mcescher.net/

13. Escher, M.C. (n.d.). Pictures of M.C. Escher's work. Retrieved
from http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery.htm
Math Academy Online, Initials. (1997). The Mathematical Art of
M.C. Escher. Retrieved from
http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/
Modern Art. Dictionary.com. Retrieved February 10, 2011,
Stereo pictures revolution. (2008). Retrieved from
http://murdamw.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/m-c-escher/
The M.C. Escher Company B.V. (n.d.). M.C. Escher: the official
website. Retrieved from http://www.mcescher.com/