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Möbius Strip II

1963
Not on view
Printed by Escher himself, this color woodcut represents one of the famous artist's quintessential subjects: the Möbius strip. Named for the nineteenth-century mathematician Ferdinand Möbius, this seemingly impossible form can in fact be created by twisting a ribbon or strip of paper and connecting the ends in order to make a loop (in this case a figure-eight) that has only one, continuous surface. Escher, in depicting a porous, effectively see-through Möbius strip, with ants crawling along it, permits us to trace their path with our eyes and thus apprehend, gradually, that all nine actually walk on the same (only) side.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Möbius Strip II
  • Artist: M. C. Escher (Dutch, 1898–1972)
  • Date: 1963
  • Medium: Color woodcut
  • Dimensions: Image: 18 1/4 × 8 1/2 in. (46.4 × 21.6 cm)
    Sheet: 21 3/4 × 9 13/16 in. (55.2 × 25 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of the family of Yde and Marjon van der Meulen, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.801
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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