• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.18-53
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• 2019

The paintings Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion were recently donated to the National Museum of Korea and unveiled to the public for the first time at the 2019 special exhibition "Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea." These two paintings carry significant implications for understanding Joseon art history. Because the fact that they were components of a folding screen produced after a sightseeing tour of the Gwandong regions in 1557 has led to a broadening of our understanding of sixteenth-century landscape painting. This paper explores the art historical meanings of Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion by examining the contents in the two paintings, dating them, analyzing their stylistic characteristics, and comparing them with other works. The production background of Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion can be found in the colophon of Chongseokjeong Pavilion. According to this writing, Sangsanilro, who is presumed to be Park Chung-gan (?-1601) in this paper, and Hong Yeon(?~?) went sightseeing around Geumgangsan Mountain (or Pungaksan Mountain) and the Gwandong region in the spring of 1557, wrote a travelogue, and after some time produced a folding screen depicting several famous scenic spots that they visited. Hong Yeon, whose courtesy name was Deokwon, passed the special civil examination in 1551 and has a record of being active until 1584. Park Chung-gan, whose pen name was Namae, reported the treason of Jeong Yeo-rip in 1589. In recognition of this meritorious deed, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, rewarded with the title of first-grade pyeongnan gongsin(meritorious subject who resolved difficulties), and raised to Lord of Sangsan. Based on the colophon to Chongseokjeong Pavilion, I suggest that the two paintings Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion were painted in the late sixteenth century, more specifically after 1557 when Park Chung-gan and Hong Yeon went on their sightseeing trip and after 1571 when Park, who wrote the colophon, was in his 50s or over. The painting style used in depicting the landscapes corresponds to that of the late sixteenth century. The colophon further states that Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion were two paintings of a folding screen. Chongseokjeong Pavilion with its colophon is thought to have been the final panel of this screen. The composition of Gyeongpodae Pavilion recalls the onesided three-layered composition often used in early Joseon landscape paintings in the style of An Gyeon. However, unlike such landscape paintings in the An Gyeon style, Gyeongpodae Pavilion positions and depicts the scenery in a realistic manner. Moreover, diverse perspectives, including a diagonal bird's-eye perspective and frontal perspective, are employed in Gyeongpodae Pavilion to effectively depict the relations among several natural features and the characteristics of the real scenery around Gyeongpodae Pavilion. The shapes of the mountains and the use of moss dots can be also found in Welcoming an Imperial Edict from China and Chinese Envoys at Uisungwan Lodge painted in 1557 and currently housed in the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies at Seoul National University. Furthermore, the application of "cloud-head" texture strokes as well as the texture strokes with short lines and dots used in paintings in the An Gyeon style are transformed into a sense of realism. Compared to the composition of Gyeongpodae Pavilion, which recalls that of traditional Joseon early landscape painting, the composition of Chongseokjeong Pavilion is remarkably unconventional. Stone pillars lined up in layers with the tallest in the center form a triangle. A sense of space is created by dividing the painting into three planes(foreground, middle-ground, and background) and placing the stone pillars in the foreground, Saseonbong Peaks in the middle-ground, and Saseonjeong Pavilion on the cliff in the background. The Saseonbong Peaks in the center occupy an overwhelming proportion of the picture plane. However, the vertical stone pillars fail to form an organic relation and are segmented and flat. The painter of Chongseokjeong Pavilion had not yet developed a three-dimensional or natural spatial perception. The white lower and dark upper portions of the stone pillars emphasize their loftiness. The textures and cracks of the dense stone pillars were rendered by first applying light ink to the surfaces and then adding fine lines in dark ink. Here, the tip of the brush is pressed at an oblique angle and pulled down vertically, which shows an early stage of the development of axe-cut texture strokes. The contrast of black and white and use of vertical texture strokes signal the forthcoming trend toward the Zhe School painting style. Each and every contour and crack on the stone pillars is unique, which indicates an effort to accentuate their actual characteristics. The birds sitting above the stone pillars, waves, and the foam of breaking waves are all vividly described, not simply in repeated brushstrokes. The configuration of natural features shown in the above-mentioned Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion changes in other later paintings of the two scenic spots. In the Gyeongpodae Pavilion, Jukdo Island is depicted in the foreground, Gyeongpoho Lake in the middle-ground, and Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Odaesan Mountain in the background. This composition differs from the typical configuration of other Gyeongpodae Pavilion paintings from the eighteenth century that place Gyeongpodae Pavilion in the foreground and the sea in the upper section. In Chongseokjeong Pavilion, stone pillars are illustrated using a perspective viewing them from the sea, while other paintings depict them while facing upward toward the sea. These changes resulted from the established patterns of compositions used in Jeong Seon(1676~1759) and Kim Hong-do(1745~ after 1806)'s paintings of Gwandong regions. However, the configuration of the sixteenth-century Gyeongpodae Pavilion, which seemed to have no longer been used, was employed again in late Joseon folk paintings such as Gyeongpodae Pavilion in Gangneung. Famous scenic spots in the Gwandong region were painted from early on. According to historical records, they were created by several painters, including Kim Saeng(711~?) from the Goryeo Dynasty and An Gyeon(act. 15th C.) from the early Joseon period, either on a single scroll or over several panels of a folding screen or several leaves of an album. Although many records mention the production of paintings depicting sites around the Gwandong region, there are no other extant examples from this era beyond the paintings of Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion discussed in this paper. These two paintings are thought to be the earliest works depicting the Gwandong regions thus far. Moreover, they hold art historical significance in that they present information on the tradition of producing folding screens on the Gwandong region. In particular, based on the contents of the colophon written for Chongseokjeong Pavilion, the original folding screen is presumed to have consisted of eight panels. This proves that the convention of painting eight views of Gwangdong had been established by the late sixteenth century. All of the existing works mentioned as examples of sixteenth-century real scenery landscape painting show only partial elements of real scenery landscape painting since they were created as depictions of notable social gatherings or as a documentary painting for practical and/or official purposes. However, a primary objective of the paintings of Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion was to portray the ever-changing and striking nature of this real scenery. Moreover, Park Chung-gan wrote a colophon and added a poem on his admiration of the scenery he witnessed during his trip and ruminated over the true character of nature. Thus, unlike other previously known real-scenery landscape paintings, these two are of great significance as examples of real-scenery landscape paintings produced for the simple appreciation of nature. Gyeongpodae Pavilion and Chongseokjeong Pavilion are noteworthy in that they are the earliest remaining examples of the historical tradition of reflecting a sightseeing trip in painting accompanied by poetry. Furthermore, and most importantly, they broaden the understanding of Korean real-scenery landscape painting by presenting varied forms, compositions, and perspectives from sixteenth-century real-scenery landscape paintings that had formerly been unfound.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.123-154
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• 2019

Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain is a ten-panel folding screen with images and postscripts. Commissioned by Bak Gyeong-bin (dates unknown), this screen was painted by Jo Jung-muk (1820-after 1894) in 1868. The postscripts were written by Hong Seon-ju (dates unknown). The National Museum of Korea restored this painting, which had been housed in the museum on separate sheets, to its original folding screen format. The museum also opened the screen to the public for the first time at the special exhibition Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea held from July 23 to September 22, 2019. Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain depicts real scenery on the western slopes of Inwangsan Mountain spanning present-day Hongje-dong and Hongeun-dong in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. In the distance, the Bukhansan Mountain ridges are illustrated. The painting also bears place names, including Inwangsan Mountain, Chumohyeon Hill, Hongjewon Inn, Samgaksan Mountain, Daenammun Gate, and Mireukdang Hall. The names and depictions of these places show similarities to those found on late Joseon maps. Jo Jung-muk is thought to have studied the geographical information marked on maps so as to illustrate a broad landscape in this painting. Field trips to the real scenery depicted in the painting have revealed that Jo exaggerated or omitted natural features and blended and arranged them into a row for the purposes of the horizontal picture plane. Jo Jung-muk was a painter proficient at drawing conventional landscapes in the style of the Southern School of Chinese painting. Details in Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain reflect the painting style of the School of Four Wangs. Jo also applied a more decorative style to some areas. The nineteenth-century court painters of the Dohwaseo(Royal Bureau of Painting), including Jo, employed such decorative painting styles by drawing houses based on painting manuals, applying dots formed like sprinkled black pepper to depict mounds of earth and illustrating flowers by dotted thick pigment. Moreover, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain shows the individualistic style of Jeong Seon(1676~1759) in the rocks drawn with sweeping brushstrokes in dark ink, the massiveness of the mountain terrain, and the pine trees simply depicted using horizontal brushstrokes. Jo Jung-muk is presumed to have borrowed the authority and styles of Jeong Seon, who was well-known for his real scenery landscapes of Inwangsan Mountain. Nonetheless, the painting lacks an spontaneous sense of space and fails in conveying an impression of actual sites. Additionally, the excessively grand screen does not allow Jo Jung-muk to fully express his own style. In Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, the texts of the postscripts nicely correspond to the images depicted. Their contents can be divided into six parts: (1) the occupant of the tomb and the reason for its relocation; (2) the location and geomancy of the tomb; (3) memorial services held at the tomb and mysterious responses received during the memorial services; (4) cooperation among villagers to manage the tomb; (5) the filial piety of Bak Gyeong-bin, who commissioned the painting and guarded the tomb; and (6) significance of the postscripts. The second part in particular is faithfully depicted in the painting since it can easily be visualized. According to the fifth part revealing the motive for the production of the painting, the commissioner Bak Gyeongbin was satisfied with the painting, stating that "it appears impeccable and is just as if the tomb were newly built." The composition of the natural features in a row as if explaining each one lacks painterly beauty, but it does succeed in providing information on the geomantic topography of the gravesite. A fair number of the existing depictions of gravesites are woodblock prints of family gravesites produced after the eighteenth century. Most of these are included in genealogical records and anthologies. According to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century historical records, hanging scrolls of family gravesites served as objects of worship. Bowing in front of these paintings was considered a substitute ritual when descendants could not physically be present to maintain their parents' or other ancestors' tombs. Han Hyo-won (1468-1534) and Jo Sil-gul (1591-1658) commissioned the production of family burial ground paintings and asked distinguished figures of the time to write a preface for the paintings, thus showing off their filial piety. Such examples are considered precedents for Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain. Hermitage of the Recluse Seokjeong in a private collection and Old Villa in Hwagae County at the National Museum of Korea are not paintings of family gravesites. However, they serve as references for seventeenth-century paintings depicting family gravesites in that they are hanging scrolls in the style of the paintings of literary gatherings and they illustrate geomancy. As an object of worship, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain recalls a portrait. As indicated in the postscripts, the painting made Bak Gyeong-bin "feel like hearing his father's cough and seeing his attitudes and behaviors with my eyes." The fable of Xu Xiaosu, who gazed at the portrait of his father day and night, is reflected in this gravesite painting evoking a deceased parent. It is still unclear why Bak Gyeong-bin commissioned Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain to be produced as a real scenery landscape in the folding screen format rather than a hanging scroll or woodblock print, the conventional formats for a family gravesite paintings. In the nineteenth century, commoners came to produce numerous folding screens for use during the four rites of coming of age, marriage, burial, and ancestral rituals. However, they did not always use the screens in accordance with the nature of these rites. In the Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, the real scenery landscape appears to have been emphasized more than the image of the gravesite in order to allow the screen to be applied during different rituals or for use to decorate space. The burial mound, which should be the essence of Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, might have been obscured in order to hide its violation of the prohibition on the construction of tombs on the four mountains around the capital. At the western foot of Inwangsan Mountain, which was illustrated in this painting, the construction of tombs was forbidden. In 1832, a tomb discovered illegally built on the forbidden area was immediately dug up and the related people were severely punished. This indicates that the prohibition was effective until the mid-nineteenth century. The postscripts on the Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain document in detail Bak Gyeong-bin's efforts to obtain the land as a burial site. The help and connivance of villagers were necessary to use the burial site, probably because constructing tombs within the prohibited area was a burden on the family and villagers. Seokpajeong Pavilion by Yi Han-cheol (1808~1880), currently housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is another real scenery landscape in the format of a folding screen that is contemporaneous and comparable with Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain. In 1861 when Seokpajeong Pavilion was created, both Yi Han-cheol and Jo Jung-muk participated in the production of a portrait of King Cheoljong. Thus, it is highly probable that Jo Jung-muk may have observed the painting process of Yi's Seokpajeong Pavilion. A few years later, when Jo Jungmuk was commissioned to produce Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain, his experience with the impressive real scenery landscape of the Seokpajeong Pavilion screen could have been reflected in his work. The difference in the painting style between these two paintings is presumed to be a result of the tastes and purposes of the commissioners. Since Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain contains the multilayered structure of a real scenery landscape and family gravesite, it seems to have been perceived in myriad different ways depending on the viewer's level of knowledge, closeness to the commissioner, or viewing time. In the postscripts to the painting, the name and nickname of the tomb occupant as well as the place of his surname are not recorded. He is simply referred to as "Mister Bak." Biographical information about the commissioner Bak Gyeong-bin is also unavailable. However, given that his family did not enter government service, he is thought to have been a person of low standing who could not become a member of the ruling elite despite financial wherewithal. Moreover, it is hard to perceive Hong Seon-ju, who wrote the postscripts, as a member of the nobility. He might have been a low-level administrative official who belonged to the Gyeongajeon, as documented in the Seungjeongwon ilgi (Daily Records of Royal Secretariat of the Joseon Dynasty). Bak Gyeong-bin is presumed to have moved the tomb of his father to a propitious site and commissioned Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain to stress his filial piety, a conservative value, out of his desire to enter the upper class. However, Ancestral Burial Ground on the Inwangsan Mountain failed to live up to its original purpose and ended up as a contradictory image due to its multiple applications and the concern over the exposure of the violation of the prohibition on the construction of tombs on the prohibited area. Forty-seven years after its production, this screen became a part of the collection at the Royal Yi Household Museum with each panel being separated. This suggests that Bak Gyeong-bin's dream of bringing fortune and raising his family's social status by selecting a propitious gravesite did not come true.