M.C. Escher’s Relativity is a lithograph that was first printed in December 1953. It depicts an alternate world with no uniformed gravity. The unique architecture appears to be the center of the work that immediately draws your eyes in. When you look closer at the image you see featureless human-like characters living among each other but which live on different plans of existence.
This work of art uses a 3- dimensional style. Escher uses cross hatching lines in both the human-like characters and the structures. Looking closely you can see that the direction of the shading lines act as a contour which indicates a 3 dimensional shape. The use of hatching produces a clear texture formed from cross-hatching in the structure.
In this piece there are multiple light sources. Three of the light sources come from the outside. If you look closely you can even see a sun-like object through one of the windows. Another light source is in front of the man who just came up from the basement carrying the bag. It does not easily appear to be coming from the outside like the other windows. It appears he could be walking through a hallway, and if that is the case then the question is what is in that hallway giving light source? Another mysterious light source is coming from the upper right side. It also does not appear to be a window.
There is a strong contrast in this work. We can see the dramatic effects produced when the dark is set against the light. The dark and light shading gives the stair ways attention, which then the viewer realizes the stairs are all which ways. The different shading and contrast also gives a 3 dimensional shape.
In Relativity there is a good asymmetrical balance. This artwork is asymmetrical because the art work cannot be divided in any way to have equal images on both sides. Windows, stairs, human-like characters, and doors are all placed without a symmetrical counter-part. However, the image does not appear to have one side heavier than the...