The Essence of Joseon Painting

The East differs from the West in that painting and calligraphy are joined together under the term seohwa. Among the many forms of traditional art, seohwa enjoys the highest status. Unfortunately, few ancient Korean paintings remain today. The decorative murals painted on the walls of palaces and temples were lost when the buildings burned down. So many early paintings on paper or silk were destroyed during frequent invasions and fires that almost all extant works in Korea are those created after the 16th century Japanese invasions. Paintings of the Three Kingdoms, such as the Goguryeo tomb murals, give us only a partial understanding of the vibrant colors and lines of the period's art. Recently, some Buddhist paintings from the Goryeo period, such as the famous "Water-moon Avalokitesvara," have provided a glimpse of the advanced level of the period's painting, but few pieces from this era remain. Thus, for an appreciation of Korean art, we must limit our focus to that of the Joseon period.

Korean painting was strongly influenced by China over a long period of time, but this does not mean that Korean painters merely imitated Chinese works. Korean artists chose elements according to their own aesthetic sense and used these to develop their own unique artistic tradition. Looking at Korean paintings up through the late Joseon period, one easily gets the impression that Korean painting was almost identical to that of China. Figures in paintings are often dressed in Chinese-style attire and landscapes are painted in the fantastic, exaggerated fashion characteristic of China. Yet on closer inspection, one can see much that is uniquely Korean.

In the East, utopias do not exist in the future but in the past, and this tendency to idealize the past also finds its expression in art. East Asian artists faithfully follow the styles of the art of the past, yet, when East Asian artists model themselves on the great artists of the past, they do not simply copy old masterpieces. As is suggested in the interesting term "pirui" (mind of the brush), the artist, through his own hand, re-experiences the world of the old masters so as to make it his own.

During the late-Joseon period, paintings of the Korean landscape became popular. In this period, the gentleman artist Jeong Seon (1676-1759) created a series of works that particularly stand out in the history of Korean painting. Even the works of the so-called "Chinese style" have much that is unique in terms of composition and organization.



Professional Artists and Dilettantes

In traditional Northeast Asian societies, professional painters, in Korea known as hwanjaeng-i, tended to be looked down upon, and Korea was no exception. During the Joseon period, professional painters, as members of the jung-in class, were despised; yet this certainly does not mean that the paintings which they produced were scorned.

Government artists were selected through a practical test of their skills. As part of the low jung-in class, they came under the jurisdiction of the Office of Painting, which in turn belonged to the Office of Rites. Their work included paintings solicited by the royal household, i.e. paintings of palace functions, portraits of the king, decorative paintings, pictures of meritorious subjects, portraits requested by the gentry and group paintings of the nobility. They would also be assigned to government kilns where they would paint figures on white-glaze porcelain. When a Chinese or Japanese delegation came to Korea, government painters attended as part of the host group in order to record the event. Since government artists had to paint according to the taste and demands of their patrons, their works do not have the individuality and subjectivity that one finds in the paintings of the literati. Nevertheless, there were government artists of outstanding capability who created great masterpieces and achieved fame. Representative professional painters of this period include An Gyeon, Yi Sang-jwa, Choe Gyeong, Kim Myeong-guk, Choe Buk, Byeon Sang-byeok, Kim Hong-do, Yi In-mun, Sin Yun-bok, Yu Suk and Jang Seung-eop.

The ruling class of traditional Korean society, from the king to the gentry, loved to paint rather than merely admiring art. These dilettante painters served both as patrons of the arts and critics. They had a great influence on the development of Korean painting and were always ahead of professional painters in forming new styles.

When compared with the work of government artists, paintings of the gentry school was inferior in terms of artistic expression and illustrative technique. However, since these painters were able to portray their own subjective visions of the world uninhibited by artistic conventions, their art had its own particular character. The gentry school also actively imported artistic styles from China, and thus played an important role in introducing them to the Korean art world at large. Unconcerned about portraying the external form of objects, they created spontaneous paintings that emphasized the mind of the painter. Representative artists of the Joseon gentry school include Gang Hui-an, Yang Paeng-son, Yi Am, Kim Si, Yun Ui-rip, Yi Jeong, Jo Sok, Yun Du-seo, Jeong Seon, Yi In-sang, Gang Se-hwang, Jo Yeong-seok, Kim Jeong-hui, Hong Se-seop and Min Yeong-ik.



Development of Joseon-Era Painting

Looking at the content and artistic styles of Joseon-era painting, one can divide the period into a former period of 300 years and a latter period of a little over 200 years, or, following An Hwi-jun's method, into four periods of 125 years each.

If one follows the latter classification, the first period runs from the 15th century to the mid-16th century. With support from the King Sejong government's revival of the arts, painting seems to have flourished during this era; yet, due to the Hideyoshi invasions during the late 16th century, few works of this period have survived. Extant paintings generally reflect the "academic style" from China's Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. Representative painters from this period include the literati painters Gang Hui-an (1417-1464) and the king's relative Yi Am (1507-1566), as well as the government artists An Gyeon and Yi Sang-jwa.

The characteristic painting style of this era can be seen in the works of An Gyeon, the greatest master of the early-Joseon period. His work, "A Dream Visit to the Land of Peach Blossoms," and "Eight Scenes of the Four Seasons," also attributed to him, have a scattered yet harmonious composition, an exquisite sense of spacial expansiveness and majestic landscapes. Yi Am, on the other hand, created animal paintings full of dogs and cats, that had a lyrical, innocent quality.

The second period, from the late 16th century to the late 17th century was politically unsettled as a result of foreign invasions and the "Four Factions Dispute." Nevertheless, a unique and creative artistic style developed during this time. In the paintings of this era, human figures appear large, and landscapes, serving primarily as the background for the figures, are portrayed with rough, thick strokes of ink which form a strong black and white contrast. Painting composition during this time is somewhat chaotic and animated. This period's style developed out of the Che school paintings of the Ming Dynasty, but traces of influence from Gang Hui-an's mid-15th century paintings such as "Sage Contemplating the Water" are also found. Leading artists of the period are the literati painters Kim Si (1524-1593), Yi Gyeong-yun (1545-1611), Jo Sok (1595-1668) and the government artists Yi Heung-hyo (1537-1593), Yi Jing (1581-1674), Yi Jeong (1578-1607) and Kim Myeong-guk (1600-after 1663). In particular, Yi Jeong, Eo Mong-yong and Hwang Jip-jung's ink drawings of bamboo, plums and grapes went on to become standard motifs in Korean painting.

The third period, which runs from the early-18th to the mid-19th century, is very important in the history of Joseon painting, for it was during this time that both realistic landscape painting and genre painting (works based on everyday life) were introduced.

The Southern style of the Ming Dynasty's Wu school, which developed during the 15th and 16th centuries, exerted a gradual influence on Korean painting up to this time. By the 18th century, Koreans had transformed this style into a new realistic form of landscape painting. Jeong Seon (1676-1759) in particular loved to use Korea's bare granite peaks as subject matter. In his depictions of rocky pinnacles and mountains, he pioneered the technique of using repeated vertical lines. He thus established a unique artistic style that could be clearly distinguished from that of China. This realistic landscape style also influenced the works of literati painters Kim Yun-gyeom (1711-1775), Gang Se-hwang (1713-1791) and Jeong Su-yeong (1743-1831), government artists such as Kim Hong-do (1745-1806) and Kim Seok-sin (1754-?), and the professional artist Choe Buk (1712-1786). Other contemporary artists such as Sim Sa-jeong (1707-1769), Yi In-sang (1710-1760) and Yi In-mun (1745-after 1824) gave the landscape of China's Southern school a uniquely Korean interpretation.

In addition to the realistic landscape, genre painting emerged as a style of stunning originality. Kim Hong-do, the great artist known for his genre paintings, was also adept at painting a wide range of motifs including Taoist and Buddhist figures as well as flower and bird motifs. He painted warm scenes from the daily lives of the gentry, farmers, artisans and merchants. His precise but humorous depictions of subjects such as blacksmiths, shamans, wrestlers, and workers at harvest time masterfully express the original Korean character. Another interesting artist of the period was Sin Yun-bok (1758-?), styled Hyewon. (It has recently been discovered that Sin's original name was in fact Sin Ga-gwon.) With his daring use of a woman and her lover as subject matter, Sin vividly depicts the passion and romantic tastes of his era. Sin also excelled at landscapes in the literati style, depictions of birds and animals and calligraphy.

Mt. Inwangsan After Rainfall by Jeong Seon (Gyeomjae, 1676-1759).	Picnic by a Lotus Pond by Sin Yun-bok (Hyewon, 1758-?)
	Fighting Dogs by Kim Du-ryang (Namni, 1696-1763)		Shaman Dance by Kim Hong-do (Danwon, 1745-1806)

It was also during this period that Western painting was introduced via China. The characteristic techniques of Western painting, such as shading, perspective and depth, seem to have been introduced by a Korean mission that traveled to Yenjing. Kim Du-ryang (1696-1763) and some other painters of the 18th century were the first to employ Western painting techniques, which were then used by government painters for palace paintings and pictures of scholarly implements. The early introduction of Western techniques can be seen in works by Gang Se-hwang (1713-1791) and Gang Hui-eon (1738-1784). The former, who is thought to have been Kim Hong-do's teacher, added a sense of depth to his work, "A Trip to Songdo," while the latter paints the sky blue in his work "Mt. Inwangsan."

In the fourth period, which runs for more than 60 years from the late 19th century, realistic landscape and genre painting styles went into decline. In their place, the Southern school's literati style, which was centered around Kim Jeong-hui's group, became even more influential. In addition, a group of maverick artists created a style based on a new artistic sensibility, which came to be known simply as the "novel style." This new style is best represented by the refined genre paintings of Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856) and his followers Jo Hui-ryong (1789-1866), Heo Ryeon (later renamed Heo Yu, 1809-1892) and Jeon Gi (1825-1854) - the so-called Chusa school - and by the works of Kim Su-cheol and Hong Se-seop (1832-1884). While Kim Jeong-hui's Chusa school can be credited with advancing the Southern school in Korea, Kim Su-cheol and Hong Se-seop created a novel style, which as its name suggests, had a uniquely fresh sensibility. Kim Su-cheol, with his bold omissions, simple elegance and subtle coloring, created paintings that resembled Western water colors. His style became a beacon for traditional painters, and formed the link between traditional and modern painting. The talented government painter Jang Seung-eop (1843-1897) is a representative figure from this period.

Around this time, Prince Regent Yi Ha-eung (1820-1898) and Min Yeong-ik (1860-1914) popularized ink-drawings of orchids while Jeong Hak-gyo (1832-1914) popularized fanciful paintings of granite peaks. In the meantime, some wealthy painters established regional circles of artists. Among them were Heo Ryeon in Jeolla-do province, Yi Hui-su (1836-1909) and Yang Gi-hun (1843-1908) in Pyongyang, Ji Chang-han (1851-1901) and U Sang-ha in the Hamgyeong-do area and Seo Byeong-o (1862-1935) in the Gyeongsang-do area.