MAURITS CORNELIS ESCHER (1898-1972)

This linocut is the second self-portrait made by Escher and one of the first prints to feature the artist's distinctive MCE monogram. Escher created a total of twelve self-portraits from 1917-1950, the most famous of which is Hand with Reflecting Sphere, 1935, in which the artist is depicted dramatically foreshortened in the polished mirror-like surface. Although in this early work from 1917 the artist is still learning his craft, Escher's rendering of his aqualine features into interlocked shapes of light and dark presage his later experiments in tesselation.

To our knowledge this is the only impression of this print to have been offered at auction in the last three decades.