Artwork Description

Title: Seven Star Dam Three
Artist: Hou Baochuan
Date: n.d.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 31.5 x 63 in (80 x 160 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
In Seven Star Dam Three, Hou Baochuan captures an expansive aerial view of cultivated fields stretching toward a distant misty mountain range. Rendered in carefully layered oil pigment, the mosaic of plots—each in subtle tones of green, ochre, and sienna—creates a lyrical harmony of geometric abstraction and rural topography. Rows of trees serve as rhythmic punctuation across the vast composition.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Hou Baochuan’s approach to landscape painting blends academic realism with a contemporary abstraction of form and texture. His palette, while restrained, communicates a deep sensitivity to natural rhythm and seasonal variation. His use of stippling and layering achieves a tactile richness that invites viewers to experience the painting as both image and surface.

3. Historical Context
Born in 1958, Hou Baochuan emerged in the post-Cultural Revolution era, a period when Chinese art underwent rapid transformation and reengagement with both traditional techniques and Western styles. Trained in academic institutions, Hou became a key figure in the Chinese oil painting movement that explored the modern rural condition and national identity through landscape.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition with no visible flaws. The canvas retains strong color saturation and structural integrity.

6. Artistic Significance
As both a professor and member of the China Artists Association, Hou Baochuan has significantly contributed to the development of Chinese contemporary landscape painting. Seven Star Dam Three is emblematic of his refined aesthetic and his nuanced interpretation of the rural Chinese landscape. The work's compositional order, atmospheric depth, and painterly discipline exemplify his stature within both academic and artistic circles, making it an important acquisition for collectors of contemporary Chinese oil painting.