Well, Well...
Well from Emblemata
March 1931
Woodcut
Image: 7 1/8 by 5 1/2”
B. 182
​
The eponym reads:
Where stream and source fail, where no other refreshment exists, I quench your thirst from hidden depths: I am your sustenance today and tomorrow.
​
Escher's faithful rendition of the well of San Gimignano was completed nine years after his first woodcuts of that famous city. It is a predecessor for his later well print celebrating the Dutch resistance. The latter work has a vantage point from inside the well, whereas this one beckons the viewer to come get a drink. Notice his technique of using parallel vertical lines to create almost the entire image with the exception of the centerpiece. The horizontal lines of the bucket run perpendicular to the background, creating dimensionality and the illusion that the bucket is about to float out of the paper.
​
This original woodcut is in excellent condition and framed.
​
First person to email gets this work, framed and shipped FedEx within the U.S., for $1,800. (photo below from TripAdvisor)
The Well
1946
woodcut
4 5/8 x 4 in. (118 x 101 mm),
B. 345
​
The printmakers’ society Nederlandsche Ex Libris-Kring commissioned Escher to create a card in recognition of the Dutch Resistance of World War II. It captures both the concept of the Dutch "Underground" and the end of war perfectly. The freedom fighter is coming out of hiding to a sunnier world after the figurative dust of war has settled.
The Dutch at the bottom translates to “We are coming out!”
​
Could the well from Emblemata (above) be the inspiration for this very well? Look closely.
​
First person to email gets this incredbly detailed woodcut, framed and shipped FedEx within the U.S., for $2,900.
