PADUA.- Beginning February 18, the Altinate | San Gaetano Cultural Center in Padua will open what organizers describe as the largest and most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to M.C. Escher and his celebrated visions of impossible worlds.

Titled M.C. ESCHER. All the Masterpieces, the show brings together more than 150 works spanning the Dutch artist’s career, offering visitors a full journey through the imagery, ideas, and visual puzzles that made Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972) one of the most beloved graphic artists of the twentieth century.

A journey through Escher’s most iconic works

The exhibition features many of Escher’s best-known prints, including Hand with Reflecting Sphere, Day and Night, Metamorphosis II, and Relativity, alongside numerous other works that reveal how the artist blended art, mathematics, and optical illusion into a distinctive visual language.

Through these pieces, visitors will encounter Escher’s fascination with symmetry, infinity, perspective, and transformation — themes that allowed him to create dreamlike spaces where architecture bends, figures morph, and logic seems to dissolve.

Organizers say the exhibition’s design will play a key role in the experience, with a scenographic and immersive installation intended to draw visitors directly into Escher’s imaginative universe. Interactive and experiential elements are also planned, aiming to make the show accessible to both dedicated art lovers and first-time audiences.

Art meets technology across the city

Padua’s celebration of Escher will extend beyond the main venue. At the nearby Eremitani Museum, visitors will be able to preview a world-premiere experimental project: a virtual journey into Escher’s world. The initiative promises a digital encounter between art and technology, offering a new way to explore the artist’s mind-bending creations.

Together, the two projects position Padua as a major destination for Escher enthusiasts and cultural travelers this season.

An international collaboration

The exhibition is curated by Federico Giudiceandrea, president of the M.C. Escher Foundation, and is held under the patronage of the Embassy and Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is promoted by the City of Padua and produced and organized by Arthemisia in collaboration with the M.C. Escher Foundation, M.C. Escher Heritage, and Maurits.

Support for the project comes from sponsors Generali Valore Cultura and AcegasApsAmga, with Ricola as special partner and Frecciarossa serving as the official mobility partner. The exhibition catalogue is published by Moebius.

A highlight of the cultural year

With its combination of masterpieces, immersive design, and innovative digital components, the Padua exhibition is widely expected to become one of the standout cultural events of the year — reaffirming Escher’s enduring global appeal and the timeless fascination of his impossible worlds.