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Lot Essay
The self-portrait is one of the most challenging and deeply important genres of painting in modern art. Affandi is particularly known within 20th century Asian art to be one of the most prolific self-portraitist, receiving not only popular acceptance during his lifetime but also posthumously in the affirmation by critics and collectors alike for his paintings of himself.
In modern art from the West, Vincent van Gogh's body of more than 30 self-portraits completed between the years 1886-1889 is often cited as one of the most prolific and significant attempt by an artist to seek artistic breakthrough, negotiate the imperatives of self-expression and market demand and seek introspection. Like Van Gogh, Affandi's self-portraits serve this purpose. But in a significant way, Affandi departed from Van Gogh - his engagement with the self-portrait as a pictorial format was life long and sustained throughout his entire painting career. To Affandi, age and the verisimilitude of appearance do not matter; what matters most is how the individual personality, confidence and passion comes true and is being seen by the viewer through the self-portrait.
The present lot shows Affandi at the age of 51, his forehead a prominent protrusion on the top of his head. His hair is in his characteristic unkempt style, together with a flowing beard and moustache vividly painted. His portrait of the self stops at the shoulders, extending a little down to the upper chest, revealing the simple white tee shirt that Affandi favoured wearing with his sarong. Affandi, in many visible ways, is asserting his individuality as man and as painter whose tastes and penchant for art evolves.
The collector of the present lot, Mr Joseph Borkin, a noted American economist and legal advisor, was appointed economic advisor to Indonesian by then-President Sukarno. Joseph Borkin made numerous trips to Southeast Asia in the fifties and especially to Indonesia helping the fledgling nation to gain its footing by marshalling support within the United States Congress as well as among the American press corps. It was during this period that he, as an avid art connoisseur, met and became friends with Affandi and, over the years, became the single largest American collector of his works.
The first meeting with Affandi left such an indelible impression on the collector that upon his return to the United States Joseph Borkin excitedly declared to his family, "I have just met the world's next Van Gogh". Joseph Borkin was convinced that Affandi possessed a unique talent and was the bridge that connected the best of eastern and western art. He made his family promise to keep the collection intact until after the artist had been dead for no less than fifteen years as he felt that the work of Affandi would be better appreciated after his death as it was the case with Van Gogh whose brilliance was only truly understood and fully appreciated after his death.
In modern art from the West, Vincent van Gogh's body of more than 30 self-portraits completed between the years 1886-1889 is often cited as one of the most prolific and significant attempt by an artist to seek artistic breakthrough, negotiate the imperatives of self-expression and market demand and seek introspection. Like Van Gogh, Affandi's self-portraits serve this purpose. But in a significant way, Affandi departed from Van Gogh - his engagement with the self-portrait as a pictorial format was life long and sustained throughout his entire painting career. To Affandi, age and the verisimilitude of appearance do not matter; what matters most is how the individual personality, confidence and passion comes true and is being seen by the viewer through the self-portrait.
The present lot shows Affandi at the age of 51, his forehead a prominent protrusion on the top of his head. His hair is in his characteristic unkempt style, together with a flowing beard and moustache vividly painted. His portrait of the self stops at the shoulders, extending a little down to the upper chest, revealing the simple white tee shirt that Affandi favoured wearing with his sarong. Affandi, in many visible ways, is asserting his individuality as man and as painter whose tastes and penchant for art evolves.
The collector of the present lot, Mr Joseph Borkin, a noted American economist and legal advisor, was appointed economic advisor to Indonesian by then-President Sukarno. Joseph Borkin made numerous trips to Southeast Asia in the fifties and especially to Indonesia helping the fledgling nation to gain its footing by marshalling support within the United States Congress as well as among the American press corps. It was during this period that he, as an avid art connoisseur, met and became friends with Affandi and, over the years, became the single largest American collector of his works.
The first meeting with Affandi left such an indelible impression on the collector that upon his return to the United States Joseph Borkin excitedly declared to his family, "I have just met the world's next Van Gogh". Joseph Borkin was convinced that Affandi possessed a unique talent and was the bridge that connected the best of eastern and western art. He made his family promise to keep the collection intact until after the artist had been dead for no less than fifteen years as he felt that the work of Affandi would be better appreciated after his death as it was the case with Van Gogh whose brilliance was only truly understood and fully appreciated after his death.