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Lot Essay
"And when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich W. Nietzsche
Affandi’s long embrace of self-portraiture is relatively unparalleled in art history. Far more than an occasional flirtation with the form, his self-portraits stretches from his early beginnings in the 1930s to the very last years of his life. In Self-Portrait (1965), time has wizened the artist. Yet, the raw fluid strokes concentrated around the upper half of the painting hints at an individual not content to simply fade away.
The dynamism behind the lines, and the distortion in the images is reminiscent of self-portraits by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Francis Bacon. Affandi’s self-portrait series shares an extremely close affinity with Rembrandt’s prodigious output of self-portraits. Rembrandt deliberately paints to obtain a singularly unique connection with his viewer, much like Affandi’s self-portrait series. Often times, the background in Rembrandt’s self-portraits is as visually taxing on the part of the audience as Rembrandt’s gaze. In Affandi’s case, he pares down the surroundings to truly bring the eye to the subject. In his earlier works, Affandi allowed for more detail in the background of his self-portraits. Gradually, he chose to draw focus on himself as a subject for contemplation. This move to a more purist stance has come to define his later self-portraits. The focus is on the artist as a subject, with the ebb and flow of the paint application adding to the overall atmosphere.
Additionally, the clearly delineated post-impressionistic strokes of Van Gogh are highly visible in Affandi’s singularly unique tube application style of painting. However, Affandi’s use of his fingers to smear the paint reflects a significant departure point from Van Gogh’s tightly defined canvas. Affandi’s Self-Portrait allows the viewers to find some degree of respite with the different textural strokes within the canvas. Lastly, the connection between Affandi, and Francis Bacon lies with their use of distorted figuration. However, Affandi tends to heighten the distortion when he becomes the subject. This sets Affandi’s self-portrait series entirely apart from the rest of oeuvre. It is almost as if when his eye gazes back, he is looking for the most essential part of himself to depict.
This 1965 edition of Affandi’s Self-Portrait lies distinctively at a liminal space between the styles of the other aforementioned art historical heavy weights. Here, Affandi goes beyond a perfunctory attempt at a critical depiction of self. Instead, his signature tube painting approach on canvas allows for just enough negative space to suggest a sense of ambiguity. The blue, yellow, and green tones undergirded by red lines in Affandi’s facial area is a forceful declaration of exuberance. However, Affandi tempers this with carefully-placed white strokes. This decision further strengthens the pull of the negative space, and adds to the overall enigmatic feel. In contrast, the depiction of his body in the lower half of the painting pulls away from the explosion of colours. The predominately red, and yellow tones in the torso alludes to the idea that Affandi’s physicality while reduced, is still formidable. The torso, through the disciplined use of primary colours, and with the upper-half brimming with a mix of colours, is a personification of Affandi’s use of the self-portraiture as a means of introspection. This duality is structured by the framing device of the red and yellow curvilinear forms. The yellow forms add a measure of delight to the work, recalling a favourite motif of Affandi’s, the sun.
By looking inward, and producing a detailed series focused on self-representation, each of Affandi’s self-portraits come into their own. Affandi lived at a time with some of the biggest upheavals occurring in Indonesia. Throughout his lifespan, he would have experienced World War II, Independence from the Dutch colonialists, and subsequent internal power struggles. 1965 itself was a period of tremendous cataclysm for Indonesia as well as the region at large. Affandi’s portraiture gives a voice to the lone person in the unforgiving tide of history. The interplay of producing self-portraits whilst living under a period of immense uncertainty, is itself an act of paramount defiance. In wielding and controlling his own output, Affandi is able to regain agency back into his hands. At the same time, Affandi’s works through their expressionist style, bleeds through with visceral emotion.
Affandi’s long embrace of self-portraiture is relatively unparalleled in art history. Far more than an occasional flirtation with the form, his self-portraits stretches from his early beginnings in the 1930s to the very last years of his life. In Self-Portrait (1965), time has wizened the artist. Yet, the raw fluid strokes concentrated around the upper half of the painting hints at an individual not content to simply fade away.
The dynamism behind the lines, and the distortion in the images is reminiscent of self-portraits by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Francis Bacon. Affandi’s self-portrait series shares an extremely close affinity with Rembrandt’s prodigious output of self-portraits. Rembrandt deliberately paints to obtain a singularly unique connection with his viewer, much like Affandi’s self-portrait series. Often times, the background in Rembrandt’s self-portraits is as visually taxing on the part of the audience as Rembrandt’s gaze. In Affandi’s case, he pares down the surroundings to truly bring the eye to the subject. In his earlier works, Affandi allowed for more detail in the background of his self-portraits. Gradually, he chose to draw focus on himself as a subject for contemplation. This move to a more purist stance has come to define his later self-portraits. The focus is on the artist as a subject, with the ebb and flow of the paint application adding to the overall atmosphere.
Additionally, the clearly delineated post-impressionistic strokes of Van Gogh are highly visible in Affandi’s singularly unique tube application style of painting. However, Affandi’s use of his fingers to smear the paint reflects a significant departure point from Van Gogh’s tightly defined canvas. Affandi’s Self-Portrait allows the viewers to find some degree of respite with the different textural strokes within the canvas. Lastly, the connection between Affandi, and Francis Bacon lies with their use of distorted figuration. However, Affandi tends to heighten the distortion when he becomes the subject. This sets Affandi’s self-portrait series entirely apart from the rest of oeuvre. It is almost as if when his eye gazes back, he is looking for the most essential part of himself to depict.
This 1965 edition of Affandi’s Self-Portrait lies distinctively at a liminal space between the styles of the other aforementioned art historical heavy weights. Here, Affandi goes beyond a perfunctory attempt at a critical depiction of self. Instead, his signature tube painting approach on canvas allows for just enough negative space to suggest a sense of ambiguity. The blue, yellow, and green tones undergirded by red lines in Affandi’s facial area is a forceful declaration of exuberance. However, Affandi tempers this with carefully-placed white strokes. This decision further strengthens the pull of the negative space, and adds to the overall enigmatic feel. In contrast, the depiction of his body in the lower half of the painting pulls away from the explosion of colours. The predominately red, and yellow tones in the torso alludes to the idea that Affandi’s physicality while reduced, is still formidable. The torso, through the disciplined use of primary colours, and with the upper-half brimming with a mix of colours, is a personification of Affandi’s use of the self-portraiture as a means of introspection. This duality is structured by the framing device of the red and yellow curvilinear forms. The yellow forms add a measure of delight to the work, recalling a favourite motif of Affandi’s, the sun.
By looking inward, and producing a detailed series focused on self-representation, each of Affandi’s self-portraits come into their own. Affandi lived at a time with some of the biggest upheavals occurring in Indonesia. Throughout his lifespan, he would have experienced World War II, Independence from the Dutch colonialists, and subsequent internal power struggles. 1965 itself was a period of tremendous cataclysm for Indonesia as well as the region at large. Affandi’s portraiture gives a voice to the lone person in the unforgiving tide of history. The interplay of producing self-portraits whilst living under a period of immense uncertainty, is itself an act of paramount defiance. In wielding and controlling his own output, Affandi is able to regain agency back into his hands. At the same time, Affandi’s works through their expressionist style, bleeds through with visceral emotion.