Abstract
Seo Byeong-o (徐丙五, 1862-1936) played a central role in the formation of the Daegu artistic community-which advocated artistic styles combining poetry, calligraphy and painting-during the Japanese colonial period, when the introduction of the Western concept of 'art' led to the adoption of Japanese and Western styles of painting in Korea. Seo first entered the world of calligraphy and painting after meeting Lee Ha-eung (李昰應, 1820-1898) in 1879, but his career as a scholar-artist only began in earnest after Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910. Seo's oeuvre can be broadly divided into three periods. In his initial period of learning, from 1879 to 1897, his artistic activity was largely confined to copying works from Chinese painting albums and painting works in the "Four Gentlemen" genre, influenced by the work of Lee Ha-eung, in his spare time. This may have been because Seo's principal aim at this time was to further his career as a government official. His subsequent period of development, which lasted from 1898 until 1920, saw him play a leading social role in such areas as the patriotic enlightenment movement until 1910, after which he reoriented his life to become a scholar-artist. During this period, Seo explored new styles based on the orchid paintings of Min Yeong-ik (閔泳翊, 1860-1914), whom he met during his second trip to Shanghai, and on the bamboo paintings of Chinese artist Pu Hua (蒲華, 1830-1911). At the same time, he painted in various genres including landscapes, flowers, and gimyeong jeolji (器皿折枝; still life with vessels and flowers). In his final mature period, from 1921 to 1936, Seo divided his time between Daegu and Seoul, becoming a highly active calligrapher and painter in Korea's modern art community. By this time his unique personal style, characterized by broad brush strokes and the use of abundant ink in orchid and bamboo paintings, was fully formed. Records on, and extant works from, Seo's early period are particularly rare, thus confining knowledge of his artistic activities and painting style largely to the realm of speculation. In this respect, eleven recently revealed nanjukseok (蘭竹石圖; orchid, bamboo and rock) paintings, produced by Seo in 1889, provide important clues about the origins and standards of his early-period painting style. This study uses a comparative analysis to confirm that Seo's orchid paintings show the influence of the early gunran (群蘭圖; orchid) and seongnan (石蘭圖; rock and orchid) paintings produced by Lee Ha-eung before his arrest by Qing troops in July 1882. Seo's bamboo paintings appear to show both that he adopted the style of Zheng Xie (鄭燮, 1693-1765) of the Yangzhou School (揚州畵派), a style widely known in Seoul from the late eighteenth century onward, and of Heo Ryeon (許鍊, 1809-1892), a student of Joseon artist Kim Jeong-hui (金正喜,1786-1856), and that he attempted to apply a modified version of Lee Ha-eung's seongnan painting technique. It was not possible to find other works by Seo evincing a direct relationship with the curious rocks depicted in his 1889 paintings, but I contend that they show the influence of both the late-nineteenth-century-Qing rock painter Zhou Tang (周棠, 1806-1876) and the curious rock paintings of the middle-class Joseon artist Jeong Hak-gyo (丁學敎, 1832-1914). In conclusion, this study asserts that, for his 1889 nanjukseok paintings, Seo Byeong-o adopted the styles of contemporary painters such as Heo Ryeon and Jeong Hak-gyo, whom he met during his early period at the Unhyeongung through his connection with its occupant, Lee Ha-eung, and those of artists such as Zheng Xie and Zhou Tang, whose works he was able to directly observe in Korea.
서병오(徐丙五, 1862-1936)는 서구적 '미술' 개념의 도입으로 일본화 내지 서양화로 기울던 일제강점기 시서화일치의 대구 문인화단이 형성되는데 중추적인 역할을 하였다. 그는 1879년 이하응(李昰應, 1820-1898)과의 만남을 계기로 서화계에 입문하였으나, 문인화가로 본격적인 활동을 시작한 것은 1910년 경술국치 이후부터이다. 그의 예술세계는 세 시기로 구분되며, 학습기인 1879년부터 1897년까지는 관직 진출을 목표로 하였던 때문인지 중국 화보를 임모하거나 이하응의 영향 아래 사군자화를 여가에 그리는 정도였다. 발전기는 1898년부터 1920년까지로 그는 애국계몽운동 등 사회적 지도자로 활동하다 1910년 경술국치 이후 삶의 방향을 문인화가로 전환하였다. 그리고 두 번째 중국 여행에서 다시 만난 민영익(閔泳翊, 1860-1914)의 운미란과 포화(蒲華, 1830-1911)의 묵죽법을 근간으로 새로운 화풍을 적극 모색함과 동시에 산수, 화훼, 기명절지 등의 화목도 다루었다. 완숙기인 1921년부터 1936년까지는 대구와 한양을 오가며 근대 한국 화단의 서화가로 왕성하게 활동하였으며, 묵란과 묵죽에서 윤묵의 호방한 필법을 특징으로 하는 개성적 화풍을 완성하였다. 특히 학습기의 경우 관련 기록이나 현전작품이 드물어 서병오의 창작활동이나 화풍 등에 관한 것은 추론의 수준을 벗어나지 못하고 있다. 이와 관련해 본고에서 집중적으로 분석한 서병오의 1889년작 난석죽도 11점은 학습기의 화풍 연원이나 수준을 가늠할 수 있는 중요한 단서라는 점에서 주목된다. 1889년작 난죽석도 가운데 묵란도는, 이하응이 1882년 7월 청군에 의해 체포되기 이전에 그린 초기 군란도와 석란도에서 영향 받았다는 사실을 확인하였다. 묵죽도는 한양에 널리 알려진 양주화파 정섭(鄭燮, 1693-1765)과 김정희의 제자 허련(許鍊, 1809-1892)의 화법을 수용했을 뿐만 아니라 이하응의 석란도 형식을 응용하여 변화를 시도했던 것으로 보인다. 괴석도의 경우 직접적인 관련성은 찾지 못하였으나, 19세기 후반 청나라의 괴석화가 주당(周棠, 1806-1876)과 여항화가 정학교(丁學敎, 1832-1914) 등에게 영향을 받았던 것으로 판단된다. 결론적으로 서병오의 1889년작 난죽석도는 학습기에 그려진 것으로 운현궁을 찾았던 허련과 정학교 같은 동시기 화가들이나, 한양에 작품이 유입되었던 정섭과 주당 등의 중국 작품을 실견하며 이들의 화풍을 수용하였다는 사실을 알려준다.