Stop! Escher Time!

It was the weekend so for a treat I took little Sean to Escher in Het Paleis (Escher at the Palace). Before MC Hammer, there was the Dutch artist MC Escher (1898-1972). He didn’t rap but he was one of the world’s most renowned graphic artists famous for his optical illusions, impossible buildings and tessellations. A tessellation is a collection of pictures that fill the plane without overlapping or leaving spaces like a jigsaw puzzle or honeycomb or fish scales.


The collection featuring his most famous works is in the 200 year old former palace of Queen Emma, great grandmother of the present Queen Beatrix in The Hague. Also at the palace were the unique crystal chandeliers designed by Dutch artist Hans van Benthem. A glittering upturned umbrella, a crystal skull and crossbones, a sparkling pipe all hung above MC Escher’s works at the palace.

The fun bit was the optical illusion room where I got to look like a giant lady and Sean got to look like a little person for the camera. It was also fun because the camera attendant was very Dutchy and very bossy. She told me to “Be quiet!” grabbed me by the arm and arranged my body in “the nice pose”. She thought it was most unusual that Sean wanted to appear smaller than me. “This is an optical illusion, you understand? You want to be small?”