Affandi

Affandi (18 May 1907 – 23 May 1990) was an Indonesian artist.

Born in Cirebon, West Java, as the son of R. Koesoema, who was a surveyor at a local sugar factory, Affandi finished his upper secondary school in Jakarta. He gave up his studies to pursue his desire to become an artist. Beginning in 1934, Affandi began teaching himself how to paint. He married Maryati, a fellow artist. One of his children, Kartika also became an artist.[1]

Affandi was born in 1907, in Cirebon. His father was R. Koesoemah. When he was a child, his father wanted him to be a doctor; however, Affandi was interested in drawing.[2] In the 1950s, Affandi began to create expressionist paintings. The piece Carrying the First Grandchild (1953) marked his newfound style known as "squeezing the tube". Affandi painted by directly squeezing the paint out of its tube. He came across this technique by accident, when he intended to draw a line one day. As he lost his patience when he was looking for a missing pencil, he applied the paint directly from its tube. The resulting effect, as he found out, was that the painted object appeared more alive. He also felt more freedom to express his feelings when he used his own hands, instead of a paint brush. In certain respects, he has acknowledged similarities with Vincent van Gogh.