Gestalt At Its Best

M.C. Escher’s “Drawing Hands” (left) is a fusion of 2-D and 3-D art in which the hands are lifelike, while the wrists and sleeves are simple line sketches. This piece plays on many of the Gestalt laws of grouping. The first of which is the principle of good continuation where the hands are positioned in a circle to maintain continuity. Although the circle creates a focal point in the center, the emphasis is on the obvious contrast between the three-dimensional hands and the two-dimensional sleeves. Similarly, the principle of connectedness follows the idea of continuation because the hands are within close proximity to each other establishing a sense of unity. The
proportionality between the two hands also develops a balance because they are within a symmetrical setting; two hands with two sleeves each holding one pencil. The title’s play on words also enforces the idea of balance because one hand is drawing the other, and thus, one cannot exist without the other. In addition, the balanced negative and positive space portrays the principle of similarity because the ground and figure are equidistantly apart. Escher’s art piece is like a visual and mental exercise that implicitly educates the general public about the various Gestalt principles.