- House of Stairs
Artwork
title=House of Stairs
artist=M. C. Escher
year=1951
type=lithograph
height=47.2
width=23.8:"For other works entitled House of Stairs, seeHouse of Stairs (disambiguation) .""House of Stairs" is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist
M. C. Escher which was first printed in November,1951 .This print measures 18 5/8" x 9 3/8". It depicts the interior of a tall structure crisscrossed with stairs and doorways at paradoxical angles. A total of 46 wentelteefjes (imaginary creatures created by Escher) are crawling on the stairs.
The wentelteefje first appeared earlier the same month in the lithograph "
Curl-up ". Later that month, "House of Stairs" was extended to a vertical length of 55 1/2" in a print titled "House of Stairs II" by repeating and mirroring some of the architecture and creatures.The basic structure of the stairs and platforms is modeled on the
Penrose triangle , or "impossible triangle", which has parallels with higher-dimensional analogs of theMöbius strip .The wentelteefje has a long, armored body with six legs, humanoid feet, a parrot-like beak and eyes on stalks. Some are seen to roll in through doors, wound in a wheel shape and then unroll to crawl up the stairs, while others crawl down stairs and wind up to roll out.
References
*Locher, J.L. (2000). "The Magic of M. C. Escher".
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-6720-0.
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