Metamorphosis II (B. 320)

One of Escher's most ambitious projects, the 13-foot Metamorphosis II marks the high point of the artist's career. An elaboration of Metamorphosis I, 1937, this woodcut in striking black, orange and green describes even more elaborate transformations and clever switches between the two- and three-dimensional than did the first, much smaller version. Begun soon after Escher's return to Holland from Belgium in 1939, this woodcut was printed only upon request, and thus the precise edition size is unknown. The technical challenge of printing a woodcut in colors on only three sheets of extremely fine paper was considerable; Escher often used five sheets for this print. That so few impressions of this print have been offered at auction attests to its rarity.