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Lot Essay
Self portrait is undoubtedly a very emotional subject for all artists. It is a subject which Affandi would constantly return to throughout his career. Very often, the viewer is brought into an intimate psychological world of the artist. To say the least, it is a subject allows for self-definition and self-identification.
It is noted that the artist often highlighted his own forehead in many of the self-portraits, hinting at a note of self-congratulation and self-praise. A sober Affandi is presented in the present lot. Details are concealed with the characteristic fervent swirl which results the facial features in an obscurity but Affandi is never one who is concerned with details. The accent is on the strength of the strokes, the way the hair is depicted, the adorning colours on the face and the circular movement created with the paint brush endowed the composition and hence the sitter with a bursting energy. Curiously, a sense of individuality and uniqueness is accentuated without a clear depiction of the face which is the message from the artist: the sitter is perhaps the artist himself or perhaps he could be an incognito but nevertheless, with overwhelming emotions.
Arguably, the artist's penchant for his own portrait hints at a narcissistic tendency. However, in retrospect, with the gathering of many of his self-portraits, one sees the works recording the gradual aging process of the artist, who was sad, happy, angry and pensive in these depictions. The intensity of these portraits was attempt by the artist to seize moments in his life and to honestly record his emotions, complex or simple, in a specific moment.
It is noted that the artist often highlighted his own forehead in many of the self-portraits, hinting at a note of self-congratulation and self-praise. A sober Affandi is presented in the present lot. Details are concealed with the characteristic fervent swirl which results the facial features in an obscurity but Affandi is never one who is concerned with details. The accent is on the strength of the strokes, the way the hair is depicted, the adorning colours on the face and the circular movement created with the paint brush endowed the composition and hence the sitter with a bursting energy. Curiously, a sense of individuality and uniqueness is accentuated without a clear depiction of the face which is the message from the artist: the sitter is perhaps the artist himself or perhaps he could be an incognito but nevertheless, with overwhelming emotions.
Arguably, the artist's penchant for his own portrait hints at a narcissistic tendency. However, in retrospect, with the gathering of many of his self-portraits, one sees the works recording the gradual aging process of the artist, who was sad, happy, angry and pensive in these depictions. The intensity of these portraits was attempt by the artist to seize moments in his life and to honestly record his emotions, complex or simple, in a specific moment.