Quietly Contemplating Nature or Laughing and Crying within the World of People

CURRENT

By Oh Dayun Associate Curator of the Fine Arts Division, National Museum of Korea

A display showing the popular subjects on early Joseon landscape paintings

Strolling in a Peaceful Landscape: Early Joseon Paintings and Calligraphy

The long horizontal scroll depicts a silent, snow-covered mountain scene, with blooming plum trees on boulders at each end. A scholar rides a donkey between them, and a servant boy follows him at some distance behind Fig.1.

Fig.1 Searching for Plum Blossoms in Snow (detail)

Joseon Dynasty, 16th century / Attributed to Shin Jam Ink and color on silk

This work is entitled Searching for Plum Blossoms in Snow, and the scholar represents the famous Tang Chinese poet Meng Haoran 689–740 , who purportedly traveled each spring in search of his beloved plum blossoms. This is Korea’s earliest extant example of painting of searching for a plum blossom. The figures of Meng Haoran, his attendant, and his donkey are executed in detail. The artist colored the mountain and boulders lightly in verdigris (a green pigment from malachite) and then added white on top to bring out the snowy effect. The plum tree trunks, which have set their roots on the rocks, and the plum branches are simply shown, and white dots are used to show the plum blossoms. No writing or artist’s seal appears on the painting, but the work has long been attributed to the literati painter Shin Jam 1491–1554 . Shin was known for his proficiency in the three arts of poetry, painting, and calligraphy, and both his landscapes and bamboo paintings in ink have been judged to be outstanding.

Searching for Plum Blossoms in Snow attributed to Shin Jam is one of numerous works on display under the theme “Strolling in a Peaceful Landscape: Early Joseon Paintings and Calligraphy” in the Calligraphy and Painting Gallery on the second floor of the Permanent Exhibition Hall. Wars, uprisings, and natural disasters have taken their toll on Joseon paintings and calligraphic works dating back as far as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and not many survived. Among those that are extant, identifying the artists is difficult, as no signature or seal has been left. The Goryeo tradition of painting and calligraphy continued through the early Joseon period, and Joseon artists followed the classical calligraphy and painting styles of Song and Yuan Dynasties in China. Thus, their works carry a classical and elegant feel. The Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers and Eight Views of the Four Seasons were popular painting subjects. The ruler and scholar-official class, called sadaebu, enjoyed and valued idealized landscape paintings, and they contemplated Confucian virtues and the principles of life itself in nature scenes, which maintained an order of their own amid constant change.

Yi Yong 1418–1453 , King Sejong’s third son, who was named Grand Prince Anpyeong, favored a court painter by the name of An Gyeon, and the Album of Eight Views of the Four Seasons is attributed to An. The eight works in the small canvas from the Album of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, produced by an unknown artist in the early sixteenth century, present a detailed view of mountains and river from afar. The effect is both tranquil and mysterious. In addition, Moonlight Stroll under a Pine Tree Fig.2, attributed to Yi Sangchwa, a court painter active during the reign of King Jungjong r. 1506–1544 , and Landscape with Figure, attributed to Yi Gyeongyun 1545–1611 , who was born into the royal family, both demonstrate well the character of early Joseon landscape paintings. The classic story of a stroll in the moonlight while listening to the winds soughing through the pines around midnight, or the scene of recluses dwelling deep in the mountains exudes both an elegance and charm that conjures deep feelings.

Fig.2 Moonlight Stroll under a Pine Tree

Joseon Dynasty, 16th century / Attributed to Yi Sangchwa Ink and color on silk

Clap in Awe: Album of Genre Paintings by Kim Hongdo

You may spend some quiet, contemplative moments strolling among the landscapes on display in Thematic Room I. By contrast, move to the Room of Masterpiece next door for a peek at the noisy and boisterous life of late Joseon. In the late eighteenth century, Kim Hongdo 1745–after 1806 cast a warm look at the everyday lives of common people to include where they worked, played, relaxed, or wandered. Kim’s genre painting composition abbreviates the background and focuses on the subject, while his concise and powerful lines and clear colors produce vivid images. Plowing a Field Fig.4 superbly captures the sight of vigorous labor: The farmers have bright looks on their faces as they turn the soil of a rice paddy frozen winterlong, and the oxen team project vigor as they pull the plow. In Korean Traditional Wrestling and A Dancing Boy Fig.3, Kim Hongdo employs terse, vigorous brushstrokes to depict the subjects’ movements and facial expressions that allow the audience to feel the intensity of a wrestling match or the gaiety at a dance performance venue.

Fig.3 A Dancing Boy from the Album of Genre Paintings by Kim Hongdo

Joseon Dynasty, 18th–19th century / Ink and light color on paper / Treasure No. 527

Fig.4 Plowing a Field from the Album of Genre Paintings by Kim Hongdo

Joseon Dynasty, 18th–19th century / Ink and light color on paper / Treasure No. 527

Seven works from the Album of Genre Paintings by Kim Hongdo on display

Encounter on a Street captures subtle psychological interplay between the sexes during a chance encounter. The scholar is depicted stealing a furtive glance at a young woman from over his fan.

Kang Sehwang 1713–1791 , who was Kim Hongdo’s teacher, said the works by his famous protégé arouse wonder: “Kim Hongdo was good at illustrating the thousands of different things that people do every day and their diverse forms. Once he put his brush to work, there would be none who would not clap their hands, marvel, and shout with glee.” There are still many people today who love his paintings. Many of Kim’s famous works are compiled in the Album of Genre Paintings by Kim Hongdo, and they will be put on display on a rotational basis through May of next year.

This year an unprecedented pandemic has put the brakes on human activities. Nevertheless, nature unfailingly carries on with flowers blooming and the landscape turning greener. The time of cringing in fear has passed, and the Calligraphy and Painting Gallery will be reopened at the National Museum of Korea, exhibiting the early Joseon artworks, so calming and serene, and the genre paintings that refresh the soul. Here is a chance to enjoy landscapes filled metaphorically with seasonal cycles and nature’s order as well as Kim Hongdo’s delightful genre scenes. How about trying to feel the artists’ earnest and loving views of life?