M.C. Escher, the youngest of five children, was born on June 17, 1898, in Leeuwarden. He grew up in Arnhem, where he also attended school. He wasn’t a top student, but he was good at drawing.
This, combined with the fact that his father wanted him to receive a good education, led Escher to enroll in an architecture academy. There, however, after only a few months, he was told that he was not suited to become an architect; his designs had more to do with art than with architecture. He therefore dropped out of that program and, at the age of 21, began studying at the art academy in Haarlem.
After two years in this program, he was told that he was not suited to become an artist or designer; he was supposedly not creative enough and lacked spontaneous inspiration. That is why he dropped out of the program in 1922 and began designing pieces for himself. He drew his inspiration from the many countries he visited during his travels on cargo ships.
In Italy, he met his wife, Jetta, whom he married in 1924. His wife bore him three sons. In Italy, the situation deteriorated so much due to the rise of fascism that it was no longer safe for them there. After spending some time in Switzerland and Belgium, the family settled in the Netherlands in 1941.
Escher began with small designs, mainly for companies; it was only later that he created designs for sale. In 1950, the first edition of all his designs was published in book form; it was such a success that it was immediately published in five different languages. He spent the last 32 years of his life in the Netherlands. He collaborated extensively with scholars and mathematicians.
In 1972, at the age of 74, his life came to an end. Mr. Escher designed a logo for DAVO in 1953. This took place even before he became famous for his designs. Our logo depicts four carrier pigeons flying off in all directions.
M.C. Escher also designed several other stamps.
For Dutch stamps, see N.V.P.H. nos. 278, 542, and 543.
For stamps from the Netherlands Antilles, see nos. 209 and 210. And for Surinamese stamps, see N.V.P.H. nos. 278 and 279.
