Describe the subject matter of each of these two paintings [10]
The subject matter of both paintings is self portrait, in which case would be Affandi and van Gogh respectively. In Affandi’s Self Portrait, the subject matter depicted is like the title aptly puts, himself, albeit in a more unconventional and abstracted manner. This is as opposed to the more realistic manner in which van Gogh has depicted himself in Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear. In Self Portrait, Affandi has characterised himself as a semi-abstracted figure against a plain background, with the highly detailed face in stark contrast with his torso, which as suggested by its dark green contour only (without any colouring within), appears to only be vaguely apparent. Affandi also seems to be placing extreme focus on the human emotions or mood, presumably meant to be conveyed by the extremely detailed expression on the face that he has painted. In fact,everything is lumped together (in fact, most of the colours used) on the face in his painting. Upon closer examination, one would find that Affandi’s face as depicted in this work is actually more of a mass of red rather than anything else, and lined with blobs of different colours (namely yellow and green) presumably to represent the hair. Details on the face are not clearly made out, rather only a faint outline of the eyebrows, eyes and nose is apparent. This is as opposed to Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear in which van Gogh has similarly depicted himself, albeit in a far more realistic manner, where all his facial features are clearly visible and modelled. Close attention is also paid to his body, clothing (as evidenced by the precise and exacting brushstrokes that make up his coat), and background as well. Unlike the unevenly distributed blobs of paint that are characteristic in Affandi’s Self Portrait, van Gogh’s usage of the