Math, Art and Architecture: Escher, the Alhambra and the St Louis Cathedral.

MC Escher (1898 – 1972) was a Dutch Artist who incorporated a wide variety of mathematics in his artwork. At the present there are several places in the Netherlands where Escher’s work was incorporated into buildings. Two schools have beautiful pillars decorated with Escher designs, the façade of another school was designed by Escher, etc. It is interesting to see what the artist chose as the motifs to use and what the mathematics is behind these designs.

One of Escher’s inspirations was the magnificent Alhambra in Granada, Spain. This fortress / palace was constructed in the mid 14th century and is known for its geometric designs. Escher visited the Alhambra and was influenced by the images he saw there. Today we can visit the palace and find many of these geometric designs ourselves.

Finally we will connect some of these topics to a local monument: the St Louis Cathedral Basilica. There are some differences between Escher’s work and the Alhambra on one side and the Cathedral on the other, but the decorations do have their roots in the same geometric ideas.

This talk is aimed at a general audience.