Escher’s visionary flair did not just confine itself to art: he also intruded into the world of science. His profound yet impossible perspectives seem to prophesy the greatest tricks of virtual reality. Yet Maurits Cornelis Escher – born in Leeuwarden, a city north of Amsterdam, in 1898 – showed absolutely no aptitude for any academic subject at school. His father was a hydraulic engineer – an important job in a country with so much land reclaimed from the sea. Although he despaired of his son, he supported young Maurits in his studies at art college in Haarlem, and in his travels around southern Europe, where he spent years developing his style.… Lês fierder