M.C. Escher Demonstrates His Artistic Process in a Fascinating Documentary About His Life

In 1971, Dutch filmmaker Han Van Gelder captured the artistic incredible process of M.C. Escher in the 20 minute documentary entitled Adventures in Perception. The film, part-biography, part artist demonstration was created for The Ministry of Foreign Affairs program “Living Art The Netherlands”.

The first half of the film shows a lot of his work accompanied by a dissonant score by Felix Visser. About halfway through, we see shots of Escher at work, with narration offering biographical information sprinkled with quotes taken from Escher’s own statements over the years.