Eight Heads, woodcut stamped print, 1922
The print, Eight Heads, was made when Escher was still at art school, and is an example of a side-grained woodcut, where the white areas are cut away, leaving the raised areas to impress the ink. This method was used exclusively by Escher in his early work, and is distinct from wood engraving (Intaglio) where the ink lies in fine grooves and the raised surface is wiped clean before printing. This early work already includes Escher’s hallmark: the division of the picture plane into repeating areas, and the ambiguity between figure and ground which challenges the normal perceptive habits of eye and brain.