Escher in Het Paleis (Escher in The Palace), Hague (must see)

Maurits Cornelis Escher said, "...the dividing line between two adjacent figures, ...bring(s) me great joy...." M.C. Escher's works are in the winter palace of Queen Mother Emma.

Queen Mother Emma is the great-great grandmother of King Willem-Alexander. She used the palace until 1934. It is now home for the work of M.C. Escher.

Pieter de Swart designed the house on the Lange Vourout in 1760. The street and the house have always been a big draw for tourists. Napoleon stayed there for 14 hours in 1811. Perhaps he had lunch and took a nap.

The Queen installed a staircase. This staircase is strange. It appears to go to the second floor, but it does not. Only the Queen and her ladies were allowed to use it.

A palace with trompe l'oiel, the perfect place for M.C. Escher. In 1990 the Royal family sold the building to the Local Authority of The Hague. There was a condition the palace could be used only for art and cultural events.

The display of Escher's artistry is the "main thing" of the museum. His early woodcuts focused in great detail on nature and landscapes. Later years he created his odd "tessellations." He loved shape changing and illusion.

In Day and Night a Dutch landscape changes into flying black and white birds. In Relativity are realities that reject gravity. In Metamorphosis he redefines eternity and infinity.

Escher's universe has layers of questions. Remove one layer to find another. See truth in illusion and illusion in truth.