Korean painting: history, genres, features

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Korean painting includes paintings made in Korea or by Koreans abroad, from paintings on the walls of Goguryeo tombs to postmodern conceptual art. Fine art produced on the Korean peninsula is traditionally characterized by simplicity, spontaneity and naturalism.

Genres and themes of Korean painting

Buddhist art genres depicting the Buddha or Buddhist monks, and Confucian art depicting scholars or students in a quiet place, often in the mountains, follow the general trends of Asian art.

Buddhas tend to have Korean facial features and are in a resting position. The color of the halos may not necessarily be golden, lighter colors are often used. The faces are often realistic and show humanity and age. The face, as a rule, is two-dimensional, the clothes are three-dimensional. As in medieval and renaissance western art, clothes and faces were often made by two or three artists who specialized in one particular skill. The iconography of Korean paintings is consistent with Buddhist iconography.

Scientists in pictures likeas a rule, they wear traditional headdresses and clothes appropriate to their position. They are usually shown relaxing or with their teachers or mentors.

Hunting scenes, familiar to the whole world, are often found in Korean art and are reminiscent of Mongolian and Persian hunting scenes.

During the Joseon period, landscape painters began to depict actual landscapes rather than stylized imaginary scenes. Realism soon spread to other genres, and artists began to paint scenes from the daily lives of everyday people in Korea. Portraits also became an important genre, as did amateur painting created by literati as a form of self-improvement. Minhwa, colorful decorative paintings by unidentified Korean artists, were painted in abundance.

The Three Kingdoms Period

Each of the three kingdoms, Silla, Baekje and Goguryeo, had its own unique style of painting and developed under the influence of the geographic region in China with which that particular kingdom had relations. Silla's early paintings are considered inferior to Goguryeo and Baekje, they were more whimsical and free-flowing, and some of them could be considered almost impressionistic. Baekje paintings did not lean towards realism and were more stylized, done in an elegant, free style. In sharp contrast to the paintings of the other two periods, Goguryeo paintings were dynamic and often depicted tigers fleeing from archers on horseback. After Silla swallowed up two other kingdoms, three uniquely different drawing stylesmerged into one, and they were also influenced by constant contacts with China.

Kore Dynasty (918-1392)

During the Goryeo period (918-1392), there were quite a lot of artists, as many aristocrats were painting for intellectual stimulation, and the rise of Buddhism created a need for paintings with Buddhist motifs. Though graceful and refined, Buddhist paintings from this period may seem gaudy by today's standards. During this period, artists began to draw various scenes based on their actual appearance, which subsequently became widespread in the Joseon period.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, there were exceptionally beautiful paintings with Buddhist themes. Images of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Gwanum Bosal in Korean) stand out for their elegance and spirituality.

Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910)

The painting style of the Joseon era in Korean art is the most imitated today. Some of these types of painting existed during the early Three Kingdoms and the Goryeo period, but it was during the Joseon period that they became established. The spread of Confucianism during this era stimulated the renewal of art. The decorative art of that period, in particular, reveals a more elemental, local sense, in contrast to the previous period. The decline of Buddhism as the dominant culture encouraged the development of Korean painting in a different direction. Paintings of the Joseon period largely imitated Chinese painting styles, but some artists have attempted to develop a distinctly Korean approach usingnon-Chinese techniques and painting of local landscapes and scenes from everyday life. Unique Korean symbols and elements could also be seen in the stylized depiction of animals and plants.

Buddhist art continued to be produced and appreciated, although no longer in an official context. The simplicity of Buddhist art was common in the private homes and summer palaces of the dynasty. Kore forms evolved and Buddhist iconography such as orchids, plum blossoms and chrysanthemums, bamboo and knots were incorporated into genre paintings as symbols of good luck. There were no real changes in colors or shapes, and the imperial rulers did not attempt to impose any artistic standards.

Until the end of the sixteenth century, court painters followed the style of Chinese professional court painters. Notable artists of the period are Kin, Zhu Ken, and Yi Sang-cha. At the same time, amateur artists painted traditional popular subjects such as birds, insects, flowers, animals, and the Buddhist "four noble lords". The main genres of this period are landscapes, minhwa, portraits.

The Four Noble Gentlemen

Another name for this style is "four noble flowers": plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo. They were originally Confucian symbols of the four qualities of a learned man: plum blossoms represented courage, bamboo represented integrity, orchids were a symbol of sophistication, chrysanthemums a productive and fruitful life.

Portraits

Portraits were written onthroughout the history of Korea, but most of them appeared during the Joseon period. The main subjects of the portraits were kings, worthy people, elderly officials, writers or aristocrats, women and Buddhist monks.

Minghwa

At the end of the Joseon period, this type of folk painting appeared, created by anonymous artists who faithfully followed traditional forms. Intended to bring good luck to the household, the images of these paintings included the following: the tiger (mountain god), symbols of longevity (cranes, deer, mushrooms, rocks, water, clouds, sun, moon, pine trees, and turtles); paired birds, symbolizing conjugal love; insects and flowers representing the harmony between yin and yang; and bookshelves representing learning and wisdom. Items were depicted in a completely flat, symbolic or even abstract style and in vibrant color.

Landscape and genre painting

The style of the middle dynasties moved towards sublime realism. A national style of landscape painting called "true view" or "realistic landscape school" began to develop, moving from the traditional Chinese style of idealized landscapes to paintings depicting specific places with accurate representation.

Along with the development of realistic scenery came the practice of drawing realistic scenes of ordinary people doing everyday things. Genre painting is the most unique Korean style of painting and provides a historical perspective on the daily lives of the people of the Joseon period.

Golden Age

Late Joseon is considered the golden age of Korean painting. This coincided with the loss of contact with the Ming dynasty. Korean artists were forced to build new, national art models based on introspection and the search for specific Korean subjects. At this time, the Chinese influence ceased to dominate, and Korean art became more and more idiosyncratic.

Japanese occupation and modern Korea

Towards the end of the Joseon period, Western and Japanese influences became more and more evident. In the nineteenth century, shading was used for the first time in portraits. Among professional artists, Chinese academic painting styles dominated.

During the Japanese occupation of Korea, from the mid-1880s to 1945, Korean artists experienced a difficult time when Japan tried to impose its own culture on every aspect of Korean life. Korean art schools were closed, Korean paintings were destroyed, and artists were required to paint Japanese images in Japanese styles. Artists who remained true to Korean traditions had to go into hiding, while those who studied in Japan and painted in the Japanese style were accused of compromising.

In the post-World War II period, Korean artists assimilated some Western approaches to painting. Some European impasto artists were the first to capture the interest of Koreans. Artists such as Gauguin, Monticelli, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Pissarro became very influential as they were the most studied in artisticschools, and books about them were quickly translated into Korean and made readily available. Thanks to them, tonal palettes of yellow ocher, cadmium yellow, Neapolitan yellow, and sienna appeared in modern Korean painting.

Color theory takes precedence over a formal perspective, and there is still no overlap between painting and pop graphics, as artists are mainly influenced by ceramic art.