Savouring the Fragrance
Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance Savouring the Fragrance

Established

Savouring the Fragrance

Artist Li Jiaen
Creation Date 2007
Material Oil on canvas
Size 41 x 31 cm
Acquire this artwork Available

Current total $5,500.00

  • Free shipping Included worldwide.
  • Secure checkout Encrypted payment.
  • Unique original Only one available.
  • Certificate Authenticity document.
  • 14-day returns After delivery.
  • Free shipping Included worldwide.
  • Secure checkout Encrypted payment.
  • Unique original Only one available.
  • Certificate Authenticity document.
  • 14-day returns After delivery.

Artwork details

Analysis and context

Artwork Notes

Painting analysis

A young opera performer holds her right hand in an orchid-finger gesture, the wrist turned outward with a quiet theatrical precision. Her yellow-green robe rises against a warm orange field, while a blue-and-white porcelain vase beside her carries red and yellow flowers like a second stage within the painting. The balance between figure and still life gives the scene its tenderness: performance, fragrance, and private concentration gathered into one close interior moment.

The palette knife makes the surface feel built rather than drawn. The robe breaks into small planes of green, yellow, and white, catching light like folded silk; the flowers are pressed into compact strokes that keep their petal weight without becoming decorative. Around the face, firmer edges and softer tonal transitions hold the performer between poise and emotion, so the painting feels less like a portrait than a pause inside a role.

Li Jiaen’s opera figures sit within the broader tradition of modern Chinese figurative painting, yet the dense knife texture gives this work a contemporary physical presence. Its theatrical stillness has a different rhythm from the lyric simplification of Lin Fengmian or the calligraphic economy of Guan Liang: here, grace is assembled through texture, pressure, and broken colour. The work belongs in a quiet room or passage where the small scale can reward repeated looking. Oil on canvas, 41 × 31 cm.

Theme

Style and context

Li Jiaen’s opera paintings belong to a contemporary Chinese figurative tradition shaped by theatre, colour, and surface. Kunqu opera values fluid gesture and controlled rhythm, while Li’s palette-knife technique breaks those gestures into angular passages of paint. The tension between elegant performance and resistant material gives the work its particular energy.

The approach runs parallel to certain strands of European expressionism, where surface pressure carries emotional force, yet Li’s subject remains rooted in Chinese theatrical heritage. Compared with Lin Fengmian’s lyrical simplification of opera figures or Guan Liang’s calligraphic reduction, Li keeps the performer recognisable while letting texture fracture the image. His training and long practice in oil painting give the opera genre a tactile, contemporary language.

Artist Profile

Artist introduction

Li Jiaen (born 1947, Shanghai) is a Chinese oil painter and a member of the Shenzhen branch of the China Artists Association. He grew up within the folk-opera culture of the Yangtze River Delta, an environment that shaped his lifelong interest in traditional theatrical imagery and its movement, colour, and stage presence.

His career has centred on translating Chinese opera figures, flower subjects, and Jiangnan cultural memory into oil painting. Within that practice, he became known for working with the palette knife rather than the brush, a method that distinguishes his mature paintings while remaining secondary to his long engagement with Chinese performing-arts themes.

Li Jiaen’s work was exhibited in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2002. In 2006, his Kunqu opera figure paintings received praise from the playwright Pai Hsien-yung, linking his practice to a wider cultural revival of Kunqu aesthetics. His paintings have entered private collections in Taiwan, Singapore, and mainland China, supporting his position as a mature artist within contemporary Chinese oil painting.

Original Art

Related works

Sancha Reservoir, Yiyuan, Shandong

Sancha Reservoir, Yiyuan, Shandong

Liu Ping

Oil on canvas 2023

100 x 60 cm

S$2,610.00
Roses

Roses

Hu Xuebo

Oil on canvas 2023

60 x 80 cm

S$1,878.00
Red Dress

Red Dress

Deng Junren

Oil on canvas 2012

90 x 70 cm

S$3,604.00
Small Town Memory

Small Town Memory

Hu Xuebo

Oil on canvas 2024

60 x 80 cm

S$1,878.00
Night Scene

Night Scene

Liu Xueqing

Oil on canvas 2007

40 x 50 cm

S$228.00
Landscape Sketch

Landscape Sketch

Liu Ping

Oil on canvas 2021

60 x 60 cm

S$1,499.00
Boshan Chishang Sketch

Boshan Chishang Sketch

Liu Ping

Oil on canvas 2024

100 x 60 cm

S$2,610.00
Boat

Boat

Han Wanjiu

Oil on canvas 2010

60 x 80 cm

S$1,707.00

Custom Commission

Choose the artist tier that fits your commission

From emerging artists to master-level commissions, choose the route that best fits the style, finish, and artistic depth you want to preserve.

Contemporary Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

Contemporary Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

Every companionship has its own familiar gaze, small gestures, and everyday habits...

From S$326.00 View details
Contemporary Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

Contemporary Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

What makes someone precious is often the character behind an expression and...

From S$397.00 View details
Classical Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

Classical Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

A classical portrait need not make a pet feel distant; it can...

From S$326.00 View details
Classical Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

Classical Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

Some feelings need no exaggeration; restraint and order can hold them more...

From S$397.00 View details
Abstract Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

Abstract Pet Portrait — Emerging Artist

Abstract portraiture does not seek to copy every outward detail; it looks...

From S$326.00 View details
Abstract Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

Abstract Human Portrait — Emerging Artist

A person’s presence can sometimes reveal the truth of a relationship more...

From S$397.00 View details
Pet Portrait — Established Artist

Pet Portrait — Established Artist

What you bring is more than a photograph; it is an expression...

From S$812.00 View details
Human Portrait — Established Artist

Human Portrait — Established Artist

A human portrait often carries more than a face; it can hold...

From S$993.00 View details

Original art support

Buying original art

Review authenticity, shipping, packaging, returns, taxes, and order support before choosing an original artwork.

Is this the only original artwork available?

Yes. Original artworks are unique pieces. Once the work is sold, the same artwork will not be offered again as another original.

Will I receive a certificate of authenticity?

Yes. Eligible original artworks are shipped with documentation confirming the work and artist information available to PFH.

Is shipping included?

Worldwide shipping is included unless a special destination, oversized packaging, or customs requirement needs separate confirmation.

How is the artwork packed for delivery?

The artwork is packed with protective layers and rigid outer packaging. Framed works receive extra corner and surface protection before shipment.

Can I return an original artwork?

Eligible works can be returned within 14 days after delivery. The artwork must be kept in its delivered condition and returned with the original packaging and documents.

Can I ask questions before purchasing?

Yes. Contact PFH before checkout if you need more photos, condition details, framing information, or help confirming whether the work fits your space.

Are duties and taxes included?

Product pricing and shipping do not always include destination duties, taxes, or import fees. These may be collected according to local rules.

What happens after I place the order?

PFH confirms the order, prepares documentation, checks packaging requirements, and shares delivery updates when shipment is arranged.