Escher's Impossible Worlds Become a Graphic Novel

A new graphic novel titled "M.C. Escher. Mondi Impossibili" (Tunué, 2022) explores the life and art of Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, known for his hypnotic compositions and perspective games. Written by Lorenzo Coltellacci (Rome, 1992) and illustrated by Andrés Abiuso (Quilmes, 1996), the book traces Escher's biography from his childhood on the Dutch coast to his long Italian period (1923–1935). The narrative is structured as a series of dreamlike journeys into parallel worlds, guided by a faceless figure from Escher's print "Relativity," akin to Dante's Virgil. The illustrations reinterpret Escher's paradoxes in cartoonish, accessible forms without mimicking his lithographs. The graphic novel coincides with the 50th anniversary of Escher's death on March 27, 1972, also marked by a retrospective at Palazzo Ducale in Genoa curated by Mark Veldhuysen and Federico Giudiceandrea. Coltellacci notes that Escher's work remains relevant, reflecting today's chaotic reality.