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Yi Chŏng (1541–ca. 1622, Korea), Scholar Contemplating a Cascade, 1500s. Ink on silk, |
Sometimes I wonder if,
unfortunately, most westerners only know about Korea in relation to
that unfortunate war in the 1950s or because of contemporary politics
in North Korea. This is yet another fabulous (and, I repeat fabulous)
artistic culture that is usually
relegated to two- to five-page spreads in western art history survey
books. Well, I’ve chosen Korean art as part of my New
Slant representing the 1500s. Korea,
as a cultural progeny of China, was a
pivotal influence of developments in Japanese
art and culture. The racial origins of the Koreans is Mongol
and Chinese. By the first one hundred years bce the
various clans of Korea began to coalesce into cohesive states that
eventually formed Korea. Koreans accepted Buddhism from China in the
300s ce, which they in turn transmitted to Japan
between the 400s and 500s ce. They were also
instrumental in helping Japan develop porcelain. Korea acted as a
conduit from China to Japan for many artistic developments throughout
the centuries.
The earliest historical record of
painting in Korea is found on painted
baskets from the first century bce. A more substantial record
of ancient Korean painting remains on the painted walls and ceilings
of tombs from the Three Kingdoms Period (57 bce–668 ce).
Those paintings reflect Buddhist beliefs. The Mongol invasion of
China (1100s) and Korea (1258) strengthened Korea’s reliance on
Chinese art, and the influence of Song
dynasty (960–1279 ce) painting traditions. Under the
Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), the
Mongols were expelled by the indigenous Yi family, and a phonetic
Korean written language was established. Korea was a semi-independent
state with ties to China, fending off Japanese attempts at invasion
in the 1500s.
Korean painting of the Joseon period
contains the same qualities as Chinese painting in the reverence for
nature through which, it was thought, humans could improve
themselves. There is also the Buddhist element of appreciating
details in the natural world as a symbol of being ready for an
enlightenment that could come at any insignificant moment.
Yi Chŏng was a person of noble birth,
great-grandson of King Seong (1397–1450). As in China, learned men
of noble birth often combined scholarship/philosophy with painting.
Yi practiced calligraphy and poetry, as well as painting. He was also
a part-time monk at times known as T’anūm (Ocean Hermit). A
scholar contemplating nature was a very
common theme in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean painting. It could be
considered self-referential for the scholar/artists. Yi’s style
contains the jagged (axe-like), bold brush strokes of Southern Song
artists such as Hsia Kuei (active 1180–1230). The cascading stream
is symbolic of the never-ending passage of time, while the landscape
symbolizes the transience (life and death) cycle that all humans must
undergo.
Some other Joseon Dynasty paintings:
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Yi Am (?) (1499–1566), Puppy with Pheasant Feather, mid-1500s. Ink and slight color on silk, 12 1/4" x 17 1/4" (31.1 x 43.8 cm). © Philadelphia Museum of Art. (PMA-768) |
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Unknown, Landscape, 1500s (?). Ink on silk, 12" x 20 3/8" (30.5 x 51.8 cm). © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (MFAB-40) |
Happening elsewhere in the world in
art history:
1490–1527 Art in Italy designated as a period
called the High Renaissance.
1500s Period of flourishing in the arts
of metal casting in the Benin Kingdom (1200/1300–1897) of the Edo
People in Nigeria. The most famous of the metal art works are
lost-wax cast portraits of rulers and military leaders in both
in-the-round works and plaques.
1502 Safavid
Dynasty (until 1736/1779) established in present day Iran.
Iranian art experience a flourishing period like never before in
architecture, book illustration, calligraphy, ceramics, painting, and
metalwork.
1526 Mughal
Dynasty (until 1756/1789) established in India, where it ruled
all of northern India, present day Pakistan and Afghanistan as far as
Kabul and Kandahar. The Mughal rulers were enthusiastic patrons of
art, especially in architecture, illustrated books and painting.
1551 Tzar Ivan IV (the Terrible,
1530–1584) called a religious council and forced the Russian church
to accept the inclusion of secular (historical and military) persons
in religious icons, formerly restricted to Old and New Testament
subjects. This change broadened the types of icons produced and led
eventually to the popularity of parsunas, secular portraits
done in the style of icons.
Correlations to Davis programs:
Explorations in Art Grade 1: 1.2; Explorations in Art Grade 2: 1.1;
Explorations in Art Grade 5: 4.20; Explorations in Art Grade 6: 2.7,
2.studio 7-8; A Community Connection: 4.2, 6.2; A Personal Journey:
5.4; A Global Pursuit: 4.2; Discovering Drawing: 5; Experience
Painting: 4; Exploring Painting: 11; The Visual Experience: 9.3
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