Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Joseon life in court painters’ eyes
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The life inside and outside of the royal palace of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) seen through court painters’ eyes is on exhibit at Leeum, the Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul.
“The Court Painters of the Joseon Dynasty” features some 110 works of court painters, who worked for “Dohwaseo,” or the Royal Bureau of Painting. These court painters, or “hwawon,” led Joseon’s art scene with literati painters.
“The court painters in Joseon were talented in various genres of painting, but they were undervalued due to their social status. We will shed new light on these official painters of Joseon through this exhibition,” Hong Ra-young, deputy director of Leeum, said at a press preview of the exhibit.
The court painters were professional artists and worked for royal offices, visualizing the authority and governing ideology, while creating a variety of works following requests by their sponsors. They also pioneered the genre painting, depicting scenes from everyday life.
“Famous Joseon artists Gim Hong-do, Sin Yun-bok and An Gyeon were all court painters. They compose an important part of the development of art during the Joseon period,” Jo Ji-yoon, curator of the exhibition, said.
Portraying royal life
The first part of the exhibition “Paintings of the Court and Royal Household” kicks off with “Sliding Doors with 10 Symbols of Longevity,” as if the spectators are entering the royal palace.
“Royal Palanquin Procession” is on display to the public for the first time. The 996-centimeter-long painting is estimated to depict the royal procession of King Gojong around 1883 to 1895. While other procession paintings are in book form, the “Royal Palanquin Procession” is on a scroll, providing a view of the whole parade.
Technology is brought in for better appreciation, allowing the visitors to magnify the painting with touch screens and have a closer look on a screen above the painting. As the painting bears “Hwangnyonggi,” an earlier form of “Taegeukgi,” the Korean flag, it is more recognizable with the magnified version.
With a projection of “The Painting of East Palace” on the floor, various pictures depicting royal banquets are on display in the next section. “Sun, Moon and Five Peaks,” created on silk, symbolizes the authority of the king.
The court painters also provided official and documentary paintings from maps to kings’ and queens’ portraits. “Painting ‘eojin,’ or a king’s portrait, was the most important and biggest event for the court painters,” Jo said. “A team of painters were chosen for the portrait and the most talented one did the face. It was an honor to be part of the team.”
He added that if a royal portrait was damaged, it was copied and the spoiled one was burnt, almost no original copies of the royal portraits are left.
The artists also painted portraits of lieges. “Portrait of O Jae-sun” by Yi Myeong-gi, produced in late 18th to early 19th century, is said to be one of the best. “Gim is known as the best court painter, but Yi was better at portraits,” Jo said.
Private activities of court painters
The exhibition continues to the Ground Gallery downstairs, titled “Hwawon and the Joseon Dynasty Art Community,” focusing on the private activities of the court painters outside the palace.
Gim Deuk-sin’s eight-fold “Genre Painting” depicts local customs in four seasons, while Yi In-mun’s “Mountains and Rivers without End” blends a landscape with the life of ordinary people. Yi’s painting is also provided with a digital screen for partial magnification.
Gim Hong-do exhibits his talent in a variety of paintings from landscape to genre paintings. Gim’s “The Nature Better than the Official Ranks” portrays rural life and scenery which he would not exchange with government posts.
Jang Seung-up’s “Playing Cats” and “Eagles and Pheasants” show strong yet detailed lines, different from Gim Hong-do’s style.
Last but not least, a separate room has a collection of pornographic pictures.
“These licentious paintings came from the same collection of pictures attributed to Gim Hong-do. Though we cannot confirm these are drawn by Gim, there are records of Gim drawing obscene artworks,” Jo said. “The court painters covered a wide variety of paintings — from landscape and portraits to the most vulgar ones.”
The exhibition runs through Jan. 29, 2012 from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except for Mondays. Entrance costs 7,000 won or 13,000 won for a combined admission with the Leeum’s permanent collection. An English docent program is available at 2 p.m. on weekends.
For more, visit www.leeum.org or call (02) 2014-6900.