Mind the ladder
But does the ladder mind?Another of Escher’s cunning pictures of the impossible. This one, Belvedere, is done by taking two rectangles and turning one 90°. In reality, that would form a cross, but on paper, one rectangle will merely be above the other in spite of its orientation.
I don’t find this picture quite as satisfying as Waterfall because the columns to the left and right of the ladder, supporting the upper level, look wrong, just as the one to the left of the figure at the other end of the balcony seems wrong because both rest on something that is forward of their position. But if the columns were allowed to sit where they ought to be (at least in two dimensions), the illusion of the picture would probably be spoilt.
I also note that the picture is based on a skewed, flattened hexagon.
Also, I suspect that the two tiers would have to be tilted if you attempted to do this in reality even although they look horizontal in the picture.
(In an unrelated exclamation, it seems that wordpress blogs are viewable again from the imperium sericum. I wonder how long that’ll last.)
I don’t find this picture quite as satisfying as Waterfall because the columns to the left and right of the ladder, supporting the upper level, look wrong, just as the one to the left of the figure at the other end of the balcony seems wrong because both rest on something that is forward of their position. But if the columns were allowed to sit where they ought to be (at least in two dimensions), the illusion of the picture would probably be spoilt.
I also note that the picture is based on a skewed, flattened hexagon.
Also, I suspect that the two tiers would have to be tilted if you attempted to do this in reality even although they look horizontal in the picture.
(In an unrelated exclamation, it seems that wordpress blogs are viewable again from the imperium sericum. I wonder how long that’ll last.)
Tomorrow, three hares, but how many ears?
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