Sidharta FIne Art Auction 10 December 2017:| Affandi Sabung Ayam (lot # 127)

Lot 127

In September 1961, Affandi visited the United States for the second time, with his wife Maryati, touring Columbus, Ohio, Buffalo, Ithaca, Syracuse and New York City,  New York, and Washington, D.C.  

During his stay in Washington, D.C., Affandi felt very much at home, enjoying the hospitality of the family of Doedi Soemawidjaja, the Indonesian cultural attaché at the time, with whom he stayed. As a token of gratitude, the artist presented his host with this painting.  

The painting was purchased from the family of the late cultural attache.

This painting has been authenticated by Kartika Affandi, the daughter of the artist.

A certificate of authenticity for this painting had been issued in 1995. Unfortunately, the original certificate is yet to be found.  

Affandi’s Sitor Situmorang Property of a Gentleman Lot #169

Affandi’s Sitor Situmorang

Property of a Gentleman

Lot #169

This unique portrait of Indonesian literary figure Sitor Situmorang by the maestro Affandi originates from a limited art collection of a gentleman living in South Jakarta. While he did not collect many works of art, he had paintings from important artists such as Mochtar Apin, Affandi, Henk Ngantung and even an early painting by Dede Eri Supria. Henk Ngantung’s Di Bangku Sekolah (lot #066 in this auction) also comes from this collection

            The collector was quite a good friend of Mochtar Apin as well as Sitor Situmorang. He had always wanted to have a painting by Affandi in his collection. However, Affandi’s paintings were sold at prices he was not yet able to afford at the time. Therefore, he immediately jumped at the opportunity to acquire this portrait of his friend. Certainly portraits were considerably lower in price than other more popular paintings by the maestro.

            Following the passing of Sitor Situmorang, the collector thought it was also time to part with the painting, so as to give an opportunity for other young collectors to be able to purchase a painting by Affandi at a price that is within reach of their budget. Indeed, as an auction house one of our functions is to find art works that have been in a collection for often long, long periods of time, brand new homes where they can continue to be enjoyed.

Early works by Affandi: Portraits of Tjokorde Gede Raka Soekawati and his wife Gilberte Vincent

These two paintings have historical significance to Indonesia as they are portraits of Tjokorde Gede Raka Soekawati, the President of the State of East Indonesia from 1946 to 1950 and his wife Gilberte Vincent Soekawati who was a French national and later became an Indonesian citizen.

Affandi’s later style is known for its expressionist work using vibrant networks of lines to communicate his emotion. However, these two works, created in the 1940s, are part of his collection of realistic paintings from his early career before his style evolved into the more expressionistic works he is more widely known for. For this reason, coupled with their historical significance, these paintings by Affandi would be a rare addition to any important art collection.

At the time these paintings were completed Affandi was known to paint in a realist style. While in the painting of Tjokorda he closely adhered to realism, the painting of Gilberte Vincent Soekawati shows evidence of the painter's use of loose rhythmic brush strokes as well as an early stage of his signature technique of directly squeezing the paints directly from their tubes to the canvas instead of his palette. The contrasting, though still complimentary use of colours in the two paintings further demonstrate his different approach to the two subjects. In Tjokorda’s more formal portrait the colours used evoke power and stature in accordance to the position the sitter held, strong reds and blacks, while in his wife’s portrait the cool colours of pale blue, green and white evoke delicacy and femininity. However even then his loose brushwork was already evident in some of his more informal pieces.


This highly accomplished and internationally recognized Indonesian master was essentially self-taught. During the Japanese occupation he was involved in Poetera (People Activity Center). Moving to Yogyakarta during the Revolution, he participated in revolutionary activities and helped to set up Seniman Masjarakat in 1946. He co-founded Pelukis Rakyat (People’s Painters) with Hendra Gunawan in 1947. A scholarship to the School of Art of Santiniketan University took him and his family to India in 1949. Following this, they proceeded on an extensive tour of Europe before returning to Yogyakarta in 1954, when he became a lecturer at the Indonesian Fine Art Academy (Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia/ASRI). He participated in the San Paolo Biennial II in 1953, and represented Indonesia at the Venice Biennial in 1954. Affandi went to Honolulu in 1967, as part of the first East-West Center Artist-in-Residence program, where he painted his first fresco. He received an Indonesian Art Award from the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1969 and was presented a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Singapore (1974) for his contribution to art. He also received the Dag Hammarskjoeld, an International Peace Prize from Italy in 1977, and the Indonesian Government’s Gold Medal in 1978.

written by Emily Graham, Sidharta Auctioneer Summer Intern 2013

 

For the e-catalog, click here: http://www.sidharta.co/fa2013/