AFFANDI
AFFANDI (Indonesian, 1907-1990)

The Praw II

Details
AFFANDI
(Indonesian, 1907-1990)
The Praw II
signed with artist's monogram and dated '1963' (lower left)
oil on canvas
100.5 x 130.5 cm. (39 3/4 x 51 5/8 in.)
Painted in 1963
Provenance
Anon. sale; Christie's Singapore, 4 October 1998, Lot 250
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Private Collection, Singapore

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Lot Essay

Commonly identified as the father of Indonesian art, Affandi, often sought for symbolic subject matters to paint in order to exemplify the humanity and lives led by the community that Affandi knew intimately.

Praw II (Lot 120) is a classic work of Affandi, with its forceful lines and strokes, and three-dimensional impasto produced by the application of paint directly from the tube onto the canvas as well as the hand-smears. Praw II sets itself apart from other of Affandi's works with its strongly etched lines that run diagonally and dynamically across the painted surface.

Affandi often looked for scenes that were of personal symbolic meaning to him, as a means of connoting human suffering or the turmoil of natural forces. One of Affandi's most characteristic representations is that of the fishing boat and his ability to express his emotions through the movement and texture of his paintings can be seen in Praw II, and the boat and beach can be seen as a metaphor for his anxiety in the face of life and nature.

Affandi always felt connected to his spiritual self painting boats or waves near the beach. Being out in the elements made Affandi aware of his own existence and Praw II contains a great deal of the positive energy that came over Affandi in his plein air painting.

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