Introduction to Tessellations

What is a tessellation?
A tessellation is used to refer to pictures or tiles, usually shaped like animals, or other life forms. A tessellation covers a surface in a symmetrical way without overlapping or leaving gaps.

M.C. Escher:
Maurits Cornelis Escher was born on June 17th, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Holland. He grew up being the youngest of 4 brothers and with his father as a civil engineer. During highschool he lived in Arnhem. At the high school his art teacher noticed that Escher was very comfortable with drawing, and he taught him how to make linocuts, which later he became famous for. He sent some of his work to a graphic artist, Roland Holtz, who suggested that he switch to wood cuts. After failing his school exams, Holtz suggested that he become an architect. He listened to Rolans Holtz and in 1918 he enrolled in the ‘School for Architecture and Decorative Arts’ in Haarlem. Here he mastered his wood and linocut skills. Later in life he did a lot of traveling around Europe to become inspired with coastline and landscapes. His first tessellation was produced in 1925 called ‘lions’.

M.C. Escher or known as “the father of modern tessellation's” is famous for his outstanding depictions, but was also a master of lino and wood cuts, and created many landscapes too. He discovered this type of art because over the years, he liked to fill a plane without leaving spaces and without overlapping, thus he was creating a tessellation. By the time he died, he had been numbering all of his tessellations and he got to 137 tessellations. His last tessellation was a solution to a puzzle that had been sent to him by Roger Penrose, a mathematician. M.C. Escher solved the puzzel. Escher died in a home for old artists on March 27th, 1972. In his life time, he produced 448 woodcuts, linocuts, and lithos, and over 2000 drawings.