Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent van Gogh 1889
Oil on Canvas

a. 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 painterly technique can be said to be more subtle in that sense as well. Because while Self Portrait’s subject matter comes across as more “wild”, van Gogh appears to be more subdued and solemn in this painting, with the monochromatic colours used in which, as opposed to the clashing ones used in the former. Being painted in a far more realistic manner, where every aspect of the painting has been carefully modelled, the subject matter here can be said to be more of an imitative nature rather than an abstract one. Inherently, we see here that as the title puts forth, van Gogh has painted in detail his bandaged ear, giving it prominence in the painting. However, unlike the face in Affandi’s Self Portrait, this is not the only focus as the background has also been meticulously painted on the canvas, what with the painting within the painting being intricately coloured in as well. Hence the subject matter in this painting of van Gogh is a portrait of himself positioned against a realistic and possibly imitated background, with prominence given to his own key visible physical features that are meant to be captured by the painting (i.e his bandaged ear).

b. What visual language have the artists used to express their ideas to the viewer? [10]
The two artists have used radically different methods to express their ideas to the viewer, and in that sense have also employed differing visual language. Affandi has chosen to adopt the more emotive visual language in Self Portrait, while van Gogh has used an imitative visual language. While Affandi’s work appears to be more visually striking with all the bold use of colour (largely in impasto fashion), van Gogh’s painting comes across as a consolidated outlet of more subtle visual language. This is as evidenced by the opposing painting techniques that both artists have deployed in their work. In Self Portrait, Affandi has made use of his very own squeeze technique, directly squeezing strokes of paint onto the canvas to form the subject matter as depicted by his painting. Developed by himself, this is an unconventional painting method that results in the obvious, visible brushstrokes as seen in the final painting. On the whole, this also makes Self Portrait stand out firstly because of its uneven texture (due to the uneven spread of paint as squeezed out onto the canvas), and secondly because it comes across as far more bold and striking. Also, Affandi has chosen an interesting colour palette, in that he has used both contrasting and harmonious colours in the painting, though the former appears to be more apparent. Red and green are the predominant colours that he has employed, and they appear side by side in the painting, with the green strokes surrounding the mass of red that represents Affandi’s face. This set of contrasting colours is a very striking component of the visual language that Affandi has deployed, as it makes the painting come across more strongly. Coupled with a plainer background (that is painted in more subdued colours in contrast), the combination of colour choice and painting style is definitely an effective form of visual language that Affandi uses to communicate with his viewer. Also not to forget the clever use of composition in Self Portrait as well, where emphasis is placed largely on the face presumably meant to convey/suggest moods/emotions, with comparatively more loose and casual brushstrokes used to suggest the less important details (like the contour used to depict the torso). In retrospect however, the visual language of communication as effected by van Gogh is far less striking in that sense. The colour scheme used by him is more monochromatic in nature, with the colour green most commonly used. This gives the painting a more calming effect, and hence van Gogh, as opposed to Affandi’s bold, striking style, is deploying a soothing visual language of sorts. The painting techniques that he used in Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear are representational of the post-Impressionist movement that he belonged to, as evidenced by the meticulously employed broken-colour technique used on the green coat he is wearing. Unlike Affandi’s squeeze technique where the paint is squeezed on in a more haphazard fashion, the broken-colour technique van Gogh deployed is where the different patches of colour are put side by side so that the eye will automatically merge them when viewed from afar. Other aspects of this painting appear to be technically perfect, what with the careful blending and whatnot, particularly that of the careful modelling as evidenced in the painting of van Gogh’s face in this work. So to conclude, while the two artists have very different style and visual communication method, Affandi uses the more abstract and evoking visual language that “glares” at the viewer in the eye, whereas van Gogh employs the more contemporary modelled and subtle way of depiction.