Relativity (M. C.

Escher)
Relativity is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist
Relativity
M. C. Escher, first printed in December 1953. The
first version of this work was a woodcut made
earlier that same year.

It depicts a world in which the normal laws of

gravity do not apply. The architectural structure
seems to be the centre of an idyllic community, with
most of its inhabitants casually going about their
ordinary business, such as dining. There are
windows and doorways leading to park-like outdoor
settings. All of the figures are dressed in identical
attire and have featureless bulb-shaped heads.
Identical characters such as these can be found in
many other Escher works.

In the world of Relativity, there are three sources of

gravity, each being orthogonal to the two others. Artist M. C. Escher
Each inhabitant lives in one of the gravity wells,
Completion December 1953
where normal physical laws apply. There are sixteen
date
characters, spread between each gravity source, six
in one and five each in the other two. The apparent Type Lithograph
confusion of the lithograph print comes from the Dimensions 27.7 cm × 29.2 cm (10.9 in
fact that the three gravity sources are depicted in the × 11.5 in)
same space.

The structure has seven stairways, and each stairway can be used by people who belong to two
different gravity sources. This creates interesting phenomena, such as in the top stairway, where
two inhabitants use the same stairway in the same direction and on the same side, but each using a
different face of each step; thus, one descends the stairway as the other climbs it, even while
moving in the same direction nearly side by side. In the other stairways, inhabitants are depicted
as climbing the stairways upside-down, but based on their own gravity source, they are climbing
normally.

Each of the three parks belongs to one of the gravity wells. All but one of the doors seem to lead to
basements below the parks. Though physically possible, such basements are certainly unusual and
add to the surreal effect of the picture.

It is one of Escher's most popular works, and has been used in a variety of ways.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Relativity_(M._C._Escher)&oldid=1049308239"

This page was last edited on 11 October 2021, at 02:52 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.