Artwork Description

Title: Under the Banyan Tree
Artist: Weimin Sun (b. 1946)
Date: 2013
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 25.6 × 20.9 in (65 × 53 cm)

Artwork Identification
This intimate oil painting by Weimin Sun captures a tranquil rural moment: a young girl and her dog sleeping peacefully beneath the broad canopy of a banyan tree. Executed with emotive sensitivity and technical refinement, the work combines subtle light modulation with richly textured brushwork, rendering the dappled shade and warmth of the countryside with quiet poignancy.

Artistic Style and Influences
Weimin Sun’s practice is grounded in realist traditions, shaped by his academic training at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and his formative years spent in rural China. His style is marked by a deep empathy for his subjects and a visual language that blends Soviet-influenced realism with the lyrical humanism of Chinese genre painting. In Under the Banyan Tree, Sun’s brushwork—both expressive and precise—conveys a sense of peace, rootedness, and emotional resonance.

Historical Context
The composition reflects themes central to Sun’s oeuvre: memory, rural childhood, and the rhythms of provincial life. As a participant in the “Down to the Countryside” movement of the late 1960s, Sun absorbed firsthand the hardships and tenderness of agrarian living. This work, likely painted in the years following that era, serves as both an homage and a recollection, articulating a nostalgic vision shaped by lived experience.

Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon request.

Condition and Conservation
The painting is in very good condition, with stable paint layers and no visible signs of damage or restoration. The canvas remains taut, with no surface distortion. A light layer of protective varnish appears to have been applied, preserving both luminosity and color fidelity.

Artistic Significance
Weimin Sun is one of China’s leading realist painters of his generation, celebrated for his nuanced portrayals of rural life and his contributions to oil painting pedagogy at CAFA. Under the Banyan Tree exemplifies the artist’s gift for translating simple, unadorned moments into deeply affecting images. The work stands as a testament to his artistic integrity and to a cultural memory that continues to resonate across generations.
Xileng Yinshe 20170717autumn Zhengjiang China Contemporary oil painting