Joseon
In the Joseon dynasty, Ming ideals and imported techniques continued in early dynasty idealized works as the Goryeo Dynasty had.
Mid-dynasty painting styles moved towards increased realism. A national painting style of landscapes called "true view" began – moving from the traditional Chinese style of idealized general landscapes to particular locations exactly rendered. While not photographic, the style was academic enough to become established and supported as a standardized style in Korean painting.
The mid- to late-Joseon Dynasty is considered the golden age of Korean painting. It collapse of the Ming Dynasty forced artists to build new artistic models based on nationalism and an inner search for particular Korean subjects. At this time China ceased to have pre-eminent influence, Korean art took its own course, and became increasingly distinctive. From the court to the common people, paintings carried various meanings from simple wishes for fortune to representations of scholarly ideals.
Landscape Paintings
In traditional East Asian art, landscape is the preferred and revered mode of painting. Landscape painting represents both a portrayal of nature itself and a codified illustration of the human view of nature and the world. Within the powerful, awe-inspiring landscape, the human figure appears in diminutive form, or not at all. Korea possesses a long tradition of landscape painting, tracing back to the tomb murals of the Goguryeo kingdom. Joseon Dynasty is the period of great maturation of landscape painting, in style and theoretical paradigms.
An Gyeon, Joseon dynasty, 15th century
Dream Journey to the Peach Blossom Land (Mongyu dowondo)
Painted at the behest of his patron, Prince Anpyeong, the handscroll depicts a dream, as elucidated by the prince in his colophon to the painting, wherein he was transported to the Peach Blossom Land, a utopian world described in a fable by the Chinese poet Tao Qian. The painting affirms both the authority of Prince Anpyeong, a powerful supporter of the arts, and the transformative skills of An Gyeon. The handscroll also attests to the deep knowledge of and appreciation for literary and artistic traditions, especially Chinese, shared by a broad spectrum of the cultural elite of the period. At the same time, it unequivocally reveals An’s extraordinary personal style, one that would serve as a model for generations of landscape painters.
General view of Mt. Geumgangsan
(Geumgang jeondo)
Jeong Seon, Joseon dynasty, Korea, 16th century
While many contemporaneous painters imitated the latest art trends from China, Jeong Seon ignored these to create unique themes based on Korean landscapes.
He painted around 100 images of the Geumgang mountains (Diamond Mountains) which still exist to this day. The artist’s love of the mountains influenced other artists to depict the Diamond Mountains and even encouraged mapmakers to make maps of the area.
Although Jeong Seon made many paintings of Mt. Geumgangsan, this painting is the largest and considered his best. Like many of his paintings, Jeong Seon painted this landscape while actually viewing the mountains. It is painted with India ink.
The painting depicts a total of twelve thousand peaks. The high sharp peaks are depicted by the artist with lines painted up and down while the artist used a dotting brush method to depict the earthen peaks, making them appear relatively soft and lush. This composition harmonizes the contrasting sharp edges of the rocky peaks with the softer earthen peaks.
The words on the painting reads:
Even if you visit the mountain yourself and tread on its every nook and cranny, how can your joy be compared with what you feel upon viewing this picture from your bedside?
Portrait Painting
Because Joseon was a Confucian society, its people stressed the importance of respecting one’s roots and ancestors. As the ancestor rituals became important, portrait paintings became popular during the ceremonial process. As a result, many portrait paintings were produced throughout this time. Joseon’s portrait paintings exhibit extremely detail-oriented and realistic depiction of their subjects. There is no narcissism and no staging in the paintings.
Portrait of Sin Sukju
Second half of 5th century
This painting depicts Sin Sukju (1417-75) as a “meritorious subject,” or an official honored for his distinguished service at court and loyalty to the king during a tumultuous time.
This painting shows Sin Sukju dressed in his official robes with a black silk hat on his head. He wears a rank badge on his chest indicating the status of the official. Sin Sukju’s rank badge shows a pair of peacocks amongst flowering plants and clouds. It is an auspicious scene suiting a civic official.
The careful attention to the sitter’s face, such as wrinkles and bone structure, served the Korean belief that the face could reveal important clues about the subject. His thin, almond-shaped eyes are bright and clear, and his mouth is surrounded by deep grooves where his mustache meets his chin. His solemn visage exudes wisdom and dignity.
Even more important than recording the sitter’s appearance and preserving his rank during life, portrait painting served as a focus for ancestral rituals after his death. In the format of a hanging scroll, this painting likely hung within the family shrine to guide the soul in the practice of ancestral worship. In this way, Portrait of Sin Sukju reflected both the honor that Sin Sukju brought to his lineage as a meritorious official as well as Confucian beliefs about the afterlife.
Later portraits developed this interest in the face even further with the use of Western painting techniques introduced to Korea by Jesuit missionaries in China in the eighteenth century.
Royal Portrait of
King Yeongjo
Joseon dynasty, Korea, 18th century
Many leaders demanded to have their images in portraits beautified; but not this king. King Yeongjo's portrait depicts when he was 51-years-old and at the peak of his reign. In this portrait, it depicts him as a stubborn and charismatic leader, and shows how he ruled the state. The king hoped that the portrait reflected his strong political faith and his successors would remember these.
He has other portraits made of him as he lived another 30 years. However, Yeongjo favored this painting as it best revealed his character and spirit. He told his servants that he was satisfied with it because it was very close to his real image. The painting captured his inner world and personality perfectly.
The current one is in fact a replica that was created in 1900 after the original was burned at Gyeongun Palace. The replica is a half-length portrait and quite close to the original.
