Escher's word-puzzle designs
Abstract
The 1939 print Metamorphose II by the graphic artist M.C. Escher begins with what the artist termed a ‘word-puzzle.’ In 1952 he crafted another word-puzzle that interlaced four artists’ names for an exhibition. Few of his admirers know that in 1933, Escher designed word-puzzles intended as wrapping paper for four major department stores in Europe. Each design repeated the name of the store in four or six directions, the words crisscrossing in bands. Each design was printed from a minimal woodblock that had to be turned and translated repeatedly to create the allover pattern. How to get from one imprint of the block to the allover design is a mathematical problem to solve.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Architecture and Art History Studies
Art
Technology
and Culture
Mathematics and Applications
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Mathematics and the Arts
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 5–26
- Publication date
- 12 February 2026
- Language
- EN