Eye Create the Impossible! Oscar Reutersvärd - the “Father" of Impossible Figures

Impossible figures are a class of two-dimensional perspective drawings that suggest three-dimensional physical objects, which can not be physically built, because they are not compatible with the laws of physical geometry.

Swedish artist Oscar Reutersvärd is generally considered “the father of impossible figures.” 

Although impossible figures in works of art have appeared sporadically since Roman times either as mistakes in perspective or as visual jokes, Reutersvärd was the first to see them as something new and serious to explore. 

His systematic approach to exploring impossible figures could justifiably be called “artistic research”.  His drawings are the intuitive, sensual and informal work of an artist, and at the same time are a systematic approach of a scientist exploring a new dimension; a world that does not exist, a theoretical world that in our terms can only be called “impossible.”

Over the years, there have been several obscure books that have contained various drawings by Reutersvärd, but most of these are either very difficult to obtain (being in Swedish or Russian), or the images are of poor quality and do not represent any real insight into his creative mind.

Reutersvärd said that he had created over 2000 impossible drawing figures and variations. This volume, which contains over 200 original drawings, represents about a tenth of his output, and is a thorough sampling of his incredible creativity. 

Most of these designs are unpublished. Reutersvärd would have been absolutely delighted that the ebook medium enables us to present his work in such a quality manner.