Polygons and PolyhedraEscher

Tessellations in Art

Many artists, architects and designers use tessellations in their work. One of the most famous examples is the Dutch artist M. C. Escher

. His works contain strange, mutating creatures, patterns and landscapes:

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Sky and Water I” (1938)

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Lizard” (1942)

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Lizard, Fish, Bat” (1952)

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Butterfly” (1948)

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Two Fish” (1942)

© M. C. Escher Foundation

“Shells and Starfish” (1941)

These artworks often look fun and effortless, but the underlying mathematical principles are the same as before: angles, rotations, translations and polygons. If the maths isn’t right, the tessellation is not going to work!

“Metamorphosis II” by M. C. Escher (1940)