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Lot Essay
Within the global canon of 20th century expressionism is Indonesian artist Affandi. More than any Indonesian artist or noted expressionist artist, Affandi's brand of expressionism drew deeply and was intricately woven with the observable world around him that critics are oftentimes surprised when he defines himself as a naturalist. The essential strand of his art is certainly much departed from naturalism, in particular his works from the early 1960s onwards where the act of painting is, for Affandi, fundamentally an exercise in finding himself at one with the subject he is painting at that moment. Yet Affandi always defined himself as a naturalist, through his own way of understanding how his art always sought to depict the realities of the world around him. It is little wonder that Affandi found in people around him the spark of natural life that continued unabated to inspire him in his works.
Affandi and Grandchildren (Lot 3) is a landmark work within his oeuvre of self-portraits that extends to as early as the 1940s and extending to the 1980s when he painted impressions of himself with increasing abandon. Some of his earliest self-portraits dating to the 1940s are studious and methodical realist studies, capturing the picture of an earnest artist, whose visage spoke more of a certain youthful confidence and potential rather than the sagely, sometimes wild, sometimes noble appearances of his later portraits. Affandi and Grandchildren brings into frame the artist within the context of his extended family, revealing of two aspects, the first, his consciousness the world beyond the personal and the second, the realization of the vicissitudes of human existence.
Three of his grandchildren are enveloped within the outstretched welcoming arms of a heartily smiling grandfather, while two ravens are painted in flight overhead. The composition is suffused with a dynamic energy borne of a circular flow of Affandi's signature lines - curvilinear and flowing, applied straight from the paint tube onto the canvas surface. At the centre of the composition is a bright beaming visage, belonging to that of the artist himself, with his prominent forehead articulated in his favourite fleshy red impasto. His grandchildren are painted with great articulation, their individual visages highly distinct. They are inseparable from their grandfather, two of them tucked under each arm and a smaller third clinging on from behind, delightfully peeking out at the viewer. Affandi was very used to going about his day topless, showing off a happily bulging tummy and navel. In this picture, abundance and happiness is not only revealed in the jovial attachment the three grandchildren have for Affandi, but also in the generous proportion of the artist's middle section. In their grandfather, the children find a source of dependence and conviviality. In his grandchildren, Affandi derives wholesomeness and completeness, reflected in the swirling and circuitous paint strokes, and the symmetrical placement of painted elements.
The two ravens in the painting bear particular significance. Extremely rare in Affandi's oeuvre, even in his range of symbolic motifs, the ravens in this painting occupy the place where the sun - a much more common motif in Affandi's works - is usually painted. The raven is sometimes perceived as a negative symbol in Western culture, perhaps due in part to them being scavengers. Yet the raven is also a symbol of the power of thought and intuition, most noticeably represented by Hugin and Mugin, the twin ravens that are faithful accompaniments to the Norse god, Odin. In China and Japan, the raven is often times seen as a symbol of the sun and a messenger of the gods. Such a symbolic significance extends to the place of the raven in Northwest costal Haida communities where the raven is the chief protagonist that brought light to the world by stealing the world's only source of light from an old man. Understanding the regard Affandi held for the sun and its centrality in life, the ravens in Affandi and Grandchildren are more likely than not signifiers of the all-encompassing reach of the sun, and animal guardians of heroic proportions keeping a family safe together.
Affandi produced a number of portraits of family members, including his daughter Kartika and his mother, and oftentimes with his own portrait included, but a painting of his grandchildren counts amongst the rarest. Affandi and Grandchildren thus presents Affandi uniquely within his oeuvre of self and family portraits.
A FRIENDSHIP IN ART
Affandi and Grandchildren has remained in the private collection of Alex Papadimitriou ever since it was acquired by the collector from the artist. Affandi met Alex Papadimitriou in the early 1950s when the latter was organizing Indonesia's participation at the Bienal de So Paulo. At the time of their first encounter, Papadimitriou was not yet a collector. The son of a Greek father and a German-Japanese mother, Alex Papadimitriou was born in 1924 in Palembang, South Sumatra in Indonesia. His multi-ethnic identity put him in good stead to work as a diplomatic staff for Indonesia, his adopted country of domicile since 1958. After getting to know Affandi in the early 1950s, he gradually turned to collecting paintings. For him, Indonesian art was placed close to the heart of his collection. In Indonesia, Alex Papadimitriou proved to be one of the most astute art collectors whose collection has gained a place of importance in the narration of modern Indonesian art. Papadimitriou's friendship with Affandi allowed for a great majority of the artist's works in his collection to be purchased from Affandi himself including the present lot, Affandi and Grandchildren.
The relationship between them went beyond just that of a collector and artist. Papadimitriou was patron, promoter and friend to Affandi, making the works of the expressionist painter the core of his collection, underlying his preference for paintings that strongly communicate expression and sentiment. As a collector, he looked beyond techniques and styles, seeking instead to find works that communicated a transcendental idea. Christie's is honoured to bring to auction for the first time Affandi and Grandchildren, one of the finest works of Affandi in the Alex Papadimitriou Collection to auction.
Affandi and Grandchildren (Lot 3) is a landmark work within his oeuvre of self-portraits that extends to as early as the 1940s and extending to the 1980s when he painted impressions of himself with increasing abandon. Some of his earliest self-portraits dating to the 1940s are studious and methodical realist studies, capturing the picture of an earnest artist, whose visage spoke more of a certain youthful confidence and potential rather than the sagely, sometimes wild, sometimes noble appearances of his later portraits. Affandi and Grandchildren brings into frame the artist within the context of his extended family, revealing of two aspects, the first, his consciousness the world beyond the personal and the second, the realization of the vicissitudes of human existence.
Three of his grandchildren are enveloped within the outstretched welcoming arms of a heartily smiling grandfather, while two ravens are painted in flight overhead. The composition is suffused with a dynamic energy borne of a circular flow of Affandi's signature lines - curvilinear and flowing, applied straight from the paint tube onto the canvas surface. At the centre of the composition is a bright beaming visage, belonging to that of the artist himself, with his prominent forehead articulated in his favourite fleshy red impasto. His grandchildren are painted with great articulation, their individual visages highly distinct. They are inseparable from their grandfather, two of them tucked under each arm and a smaller third clinging on from behind, delightfully peeking out at the viewer. Affandi was very used to going about his day topless, showing off a happily bulging tummy and navel. In this picture, abundance and happiness is not only revealed in the jovial attachment the three grandchildren have for Affandi, but also in the generous proportion of the artist's middle section. In their grandfather, the children find a source of dependence and conviviality. In his grandchildren, Affandi derives wholesomeness and completeness, reflected in the swirling and circuitous paint strokes, and the symmetrical placement of painted elements.
The two ravens in the painting bear particular significance. Extremely rare in Affandi's oeuvre, even in his range of symbolic motifs, the ravens in this painting occupy the place where the sun - a much more common motif in Affandi's works - is usually painted. The raven is sometimes perceived as a negative symbol in Western culture, perhaps due in part to them being scavengers. Yet the raven is also a symbol of the power of thought and intuition, most noticeably represented by Hugin and Mugin, the twin ravens that are faithful accompaniments to the Norse god, Odin. In China and Japan, the raven is often times seen as a symbol of the sun and a messenger of the gods. Such a symbolic significance extends to the place of the raven in Northwest costal Haida communities where the raven is the chief protagonist that brought light to the world by stealing the world's only source of light from an old man. Understanding the regard Affandi held for the sun and its centrality in life, the ravens in Affandi and Grandchildren are more likely than not signifiers of the all-encompassing reach of the sun, and animal guardians of heroic proportions keeping a family safe together.
Affandi produced a number of portraits of family members, including his daughter Kartika and his mother, and oftentimes with his own portrait included, but a painting of his grandchildren counts amongst the rarest. Affandi and Grandchildren thus presents Affandi uniquely within his oeuvre of self and family portraits.
A FRIENDSHIP IN ART
Affandi and Grandchildren has remained in the private collection of Alex Papadimitriou ever since it was acquired by the collector from the artist. Affandi met Alex Papadimitriou in the early 1950s when the latter was organizing Indonesia's participation at the Bienal de So Paulo. At the time of their first encounter, Papadimitriou was not yet a collector. The son of a Greek father and a German-Japanese mother, Alex Papadimitriou was born in 1924 in Palembang, South Sumatra in Indonesia. His multi-ethnic identity put him in good stead to work as a diplomatic staff for Indonesia, his adopted country of domicile since 1958. After getting to know Affandi in the early 1950s, he gradually turned to collecting paintings. For him, Indonesian art was placed close to the heart of his collection. In Indonesia, Alex Papadimitriou proved to be one of the most astute art collectors whose collection has gained a place of importance in the narration of modern Indonesian art. Papadimitriou's friendship with Affandi allowed for a great majority of the artist's works in his collection to be purchased from Affandi himself including the present lot, Affandi and Grandchildren.
The relationship between them went beyond just that of a collector and artist. Papadimitriou was patron, promoter and friend to Affandi, making the works of the expressionist painter the core of his collection, underlying his preference for paintings that strongly communicate expression and sentiment. As a collector, he looked beyond techniques and styles, seeking instead to find works that communicated a transcendental idea. Christie's is honoured to bring to auction for the first time Affandi and Grandchildren, one of the finest works of Affandi in the Alex Papadimitriou Collection to auction.