Artwork Description

Title: Kiln Diary
Artist: Xinlin Jiang
Date: 2011
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 44.3 × 21.7 in (112.5 × 55 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Kiln Diary by Xinlin Jiang is an evocative oil painting measuring 112.5 × 55 cm (44.3 × 21.7 in), portraying a man in the foreground with a gentle smile, seated before a rustic setting filled with stacked kiln logs. Behind him, a woman stands contemplatively beside a traditional earthen kiln embedded into the hillside. The composition blends portraiture and landscape to tell a quiet but resonant story of rural labor and domestic life.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Executed in Jiang's realist idiom, the work draws upon the traditions of Chinese socialist realism and post-reform era figuration. His palette—rich in earth tones and natural light—recalls the techniques of 20th-century academic painting, while the expressive humanity of the subject matter connects with the ethos of modern Chinese rural realism. Jiang’s brushwork emphasizes texture and materiality, particularly in the rendering of flesh, soil, and fabric.

3. Historical Context
Painted in 2011, Kiln Diary reflects a period of renewed interest among Chinese painters in documenting everyday rural life amid the nation’s rapid industrial and urban expansion. Kilns, once integral to traditional rural economies, had become symbols of labor's past. Jiang’s painting thus becomes a visual diary—a record of a lifestyle fading into history, yet portrayed with dignity and presence.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is in very good condition. The canvas is stable with no visible damage or structural issues. The surface presents well-preserved color and texture, with no flaking, warping, or retouching noted. It is ready for display or collection without immediate need for conservation.

6. Artistic Significance
Kiln Diary stands as a contemplative piece within Jiang’s oeuvre, blending portraiture with subtle social commentary. Its introspective tone and carefully constructed setting elevate the everyday into the realm of lasting cultural narrative. The painting offers collectors a poignant look at rural Chinese identity, seen through the empathetic and grounded lens of a master realist.