During the Cultural Revolution, Wu Guanzhong was forbidden from painting for six years until 1972 when the ban was partially lifted - entering the golden age of the artist's oil paintings creation. In 1973, the artist was commissioned to paint a mural for the new building of the Beijing Hotel. Together with Huang Yongyu, Yuan Yunfu, and Zhu Danian, he went on an inspection tour to the source of the Yangtze River. The current work was created toward the end of the trip in 1974.
Wooden-pillar house is a traditional stilt-style residence of ethnic minorities living in the Southern mountainous areas in China. It is mostly found in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and other regions. Wu Guanzhong's creations in the early 1970s mainly focused on lakes and mountains, flowers, bamboo forests, etc. He rarely painted subjects with strong ethnic characteristics, adding to the significance of this current work.
Wooden-pillar houses of Sichuan demonstrates the artist's exploration of 'formal beauty': the structure of Wooden-pillar houses not only displays wisdom from the lore of the folks, but also complements the surrounding natural landscape. Looking down at the buildings often shows the geometric composition of the complex as a whole, and yet from the angle which the artist chose to perceive the scenery, it can inferred that the artist was walking on the paths between the houses, looking up at the scenery in front of him, and recording the simple and peaceful scenery from everyday life , giving this work a sense of narrative intimacy.
Wu Guanzhong used palette knife to scrape the wooden-pillar houses which showcases his vision in Western geometric abstraction and create a sense of weight and texture through his ingenious treatment of oil paint. A closer look at the painting shows that the artist.mes ticulously dotted the oil paint onto the canvas to depict the original appearance and various postures of residential life - the same handling can be seen in his other classic creation Group of Geese in Tai Lake executed in 1974, currently in the collects ion of the National Art Museum of China.
This current work was recorded in Art of Wu Guanzhong 60’s-90’s published by Beijing Three Gorges Publishing House in 1996 and The Complete Works of Wu Guanzhong Vol. II published by Hunan Replica Handbags s Publishing House in 2007.
Making its auction debut, Wooden-pillar houses of Sichuan is without a doubt an exceptional work offered at attractive estimate. Referencing to works created by the artist in the early 1970s which had been sold at auction, the Qianling Mountains created in 1972 which shares similar size as the current work, was sold for HK$8,200,000 at Replica Shoes 's Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale in 2014 Fall. Also created in the same year, Dahuo Stream, was sold for HK$11,023,000 at Replica Shoes 's Hong Kong Modern Art Evening Sale in 2022 Fall.
吳冠中經歷了文化大革命長達六年的繪畫禁令，在1972年開始重獲創作自由，迎來油畫創作的黃金時期。1973年藝術家被委派為北京飯店新樓繪畫巨幅作品,與黃永玉、袁運甫、祝大年為繪製巨幅壁畫《長江萬里圖》，由上海上溯長江源頭作實地考察，並在旅程結束後，在1974年到達四川創作本作。
吊腳樓也稱「吊樓子」，是中國苗族、壯族等居於南方山區的少數民族的傳統干欄式民居，多見於四川、重慶、貴州等地區。吊腳樓依山就勢而建，以木柱作為「腳」支撐著懸空的房子，適應南方溫潤潮濕的。吳冠中於七〇年代初的創作主要圍繞湖光山色、花卉及竹林等，罕以富有民族特色的主題入畫，可見本作尤為珍貴。
本作展現吳冠中對形式美的探索：吊腳樓的建築既展現民間智慧，亦與周邊的自然山水相映成趣。若俯瞰依山而建的吊腳樓建築群，可見鱗次櫛比，蔓延山嶺之景；從本作的取景角度，則可推想藝術家遊走於在民居之間的小路上，仰望眼前風景，記下純樸恬靜的日常，賦予本作一種具敘事性的親密感。
吳冠中以刮刀油彩繪畫吊腳樓的建築以及小路旁的圍欄，展現西方幾何抽象的肌理；近觀畫面，更可見藝術家以油彩點染的技巧，描繪民居生活的原貌及各種姿態，此一手法可見於吳冠中於1974年的另一經典作品－現為中國美術館藏的《太湖鵝群》，其在繪畫鵝群時，作出同樣別具匠心的細緻處理，展現藝術家一貫的實驗精神。
Group of Geese in Tai Lake, executed in 1974, collects ion of the National Art Museum of China
《四川吊腳樓》 出版紀錄豐富，分別著錄於1996年出版的《吳冠中畫選 60s - 90s》以及2007年出版的《吳冠中全集》，可見此作乃藝術家具代表性的作品。而與本作尺幅相同，創作於1972年的《黔靈山》，早於2014 年香港蘇富比現當代秋季晚拍以8,200,000 港幣成交；同樣誕生1972年的《達活泉》，與本作尺寸相近，則於2022年香港蘇富比現代藝術秋季晚拍以11,023,000 港幣成交。《四川吊腳樓》 如今首登拍場，足見估價吸引。