Artwork Description

Title: Yamriva
Artist: Xinlin Jiang
Date: 2011
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 35.4 x 47.4 in (90 x 120.5 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Yamriva is a vivid oil portrait by Xinlin Jiang, completed in 2011, measuring 90 by 120.5 cm. The composition features a young boy captured in the open countryside, his animated expression rendered with remarkable immediacy. The child's wind-chapped cheeks and tousled hair convey the rawness of rural life, while his oversized green jacket and candid gaze anchor the work in a deeply personal, tactile reality. The muted yet warm tones of the background—fields, bare trees, and wooden fences—enhance the subject’s connection to the land.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Jiang’s stylistic approach in this work demonstrates a synthesis of realist portraiture and documentary naturalism. The artist employs fine brushwork and tonal precision to convey emotional depth while also referencing broader social contexts. Influences from Chinese realism, particularly the humanist tendencies of 20th-century academic painters, are evident. Jiang’s focus on the boy’s unposed expression and detailed attire recalls the work of Luo Zhongli and other contemporary artists concerned with regional authenticity.

3. Historical Context
Painted in 2011, Yamriva emerges from a body of work responding to the rapid urbanization and shifting socio-economic landscape of rural China. During this period, artists like Jiang sought to preserve the stories and faces of countryside communities through direct, empathetic portraiture. The painting’s background—bare fields and hand-built fencing—places the boy within a specific agricultural environment, likely in the cooler months, further highlighting the seasonality and hardship of rural childhood.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in good condition overall. The canvas remains stable and taut. There is some minor wear consistent with age, including light scuffing at the edges and surface dullness in select areas, which may benefit from gentle cleaning or professional conservation. The paint layer is secure, and the image remains vibrant and intact.

6. Artistic Significance
Yamriva exemplifies Xinlin Jiang’s capacity to bridge portraiture and cultural narrative. More than a likeness, the work captures a moment of lived experience—unfiltered, warm, and deeply human. It is a significant contribution to contemporary Chinese figurative painting, offering collectors a portrait that resonates with psychological depth, documentary realism, and painterly skill.