Is this racist? It looks like it might be racist. Black hunched over and big nose, could easily be pretty problematic.

Let’s see, here’s what M.C Escher himself had to say about it:

“Out from the grey surface of a back wall there develops a complicated pattern of white and black figures of little men. And since men who desire to live need at least a floor to walk on, a floor has been designed for them, with a circular gap in the middle so that as much as possible can still be seen of the back wall. In this way they are forced not only to walk in a ring, but also meet each other in the foreground: a white optimist and a black pessimist shaking hands with one another. The optimist has his hand open, as a gesture of friendship. The pessimist has his finger raised, as a warning. Yet they shake hands, which lends the print a touch of the encouraging in these times of war.”

Source : https://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/escher-today/encounter/?lang=en