Baarn,M. C. Escher, 1944. Lithography on oblong Van Gelder paper (45.9 x 56.7 cm; printed surface 34.1 x 46.5 cm), with watermarks VGZ and Holland; signed in pencil by the artist.

A very fine print designed and privately printed by the world-famous Dutch graphic artist Maurits Escher (1898-1972). This print, Ontmoeting ( Encounter), was made in 1944, the year in which Escher helped with saving artwork made by his teacher and mentor, the Dutch artist and engraver Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868-1944), shortly after De Mesquita's arrest and murder by the Nazi German occupiers. Encounter shows a pessimist and an optimist going in opposite directions but ending up shaking hands. As with many Escher prints, Encounter was produced and sold in a limited edition of 30 copies - the last sold in 1946 - and then individually, i.e., not as part of a numbered edition. A total of 123 copies were sold during Escher's lifetime (Hazeu). Bool records a copy numbered 13/10 (i.e., reversing usual practice), and an edition of 200, sold to the art rental programs Arta (Europe) and IGAS (United States). The present copy, however, is one that was sold individually. Some slight abrasion, in the margins on the verso only, otherwise in pristine condition. Escher's signature in the lower left corner of the printed area. Bool 331; Hazeu, W. (1998) M. C. Escher. Een biografie, p. 288. This print is subject to 4% resale royalties (droit de suite) and 21% Dutch VAT, which is included in the price here. Outside the Netherlands the VAT may be different or even nihil.