• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
• /
• no.8
• /
• pp.33-58
• /
• 2009

This paper examines four genre paintings on the subject of child education by Jean-Baptiste-Sim${\'{e}}$on Chardin(1699-1779). The Governess, The Diligent Mother, Saying Grace, and The Morning Toilette garnered critical attention after they were exhibited in the Salon from 1739 to 1741. After the exhibition, the paintings were made into prints and frequently sold to members of the bourgeois class in Paris. The iconographical details of Chardin's genre paintings have, thus far, been compared to Dutch genre pictures of the seventeenth century. Further, most studies conducted on Chardin's paintings focus on formal analysis rather than the historical and social contexts. Through attempting social-contextual readings of Chardin's educational series, this paper argues that the significance of Chardin's painting series of child education lies in his representation of the ideal French bourgeois family and the standard of early childhood education in the eighteenth-century French Enlightenment period. In each of the four child education paintings, Chardin depicted a mother with children in a domestic space. Even though this theme derives from traditional Dutch genre paintings in the seventeenth century, the visual motifs, the pictorial atmosphere and the painting techniques of Chardin all project the social culture of eighteenth century France. Each painting in the child education series exemplifies respectively the attire of a French gentlemen, the social view on womanhood and the education of girls, newly established table manners, and the dressing up culture in a 'toilette' in eighteenth century France. Distinct from other educational scenes in previous genre paintings, Chardin accentuated the naive and innocent characteristics of a child and exemplified the mother's warmth toward that child in her tender facial expressions and gesturing. These kinds of expressions illustrate the newly structured standard of education in the French Enlightenment period. Whereas medieval people viewed children as immature and useless, people in the eighteenth century began to recognize children for their more positive features. They compared children to a blank piece of paper (tabula rasa), which signified children's innocence, and suggested that children possess neither good nor bad virtues. This positive perspective on children slowly transformed the pedagogical methods. Teaching manuals instructed governesses and mothers to respect each child's personality rather than be strict and harsh to them. Children were also allotted more playtimes, which explains the display of various toys in the backgrounds of Chardin's series of four paintings. Concurrently, the interior, where this exemplary education was executed, alludes to the virtue of the bourgeois's moderate and thrifty daily life in eighteenth century France. While other contemporary painters preferred to depict the extravagant living space of a French bourgeoisie, Chardin portrayed a rather modest and cozy home interior. In contrast to the highly decorated living space of aristocrats, he presented the realistic, humble domestic space of a bourgeois, filled with modern household objects. In addition, the mother is exceptionally clad in working clothes instead of fashionable dresses of the moment. Fit to take care of household affairs and children, the mother represents the ideal virtues of a bourgeois family. It can be concluded that the four genre paintings of child education by Chardin articulate the new standards of juvenile education in eighteenth century France as well as the highly recognized social virtues between French bourgeois families. Thus, Chardin's series of child education would have functioned as a demonstration of the ideal living standards of the bourgeois class and their emphasis on early childhood education in the French Enlightenment period.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
• /
• no.5
• /
• pp.43-80
• /
• 2007

PASKYULA was formed in September, 1923 through the union of artists involved in two art groups: Kim Ki-Jin, Kim Bok-Jin, Yeon Hak-Nyeon who had previously participated in the ToWolHoi, and Park Young-Hi, Lee Sang-Hwa, An Seok-Ju, former members of the BaeckJo. After its founding, the PASKYULA artists had been searching for the social function of art to reform the harsh reality of Minjung and the nation with criticism toward society as well as art world. Their art theory for MinJung could grow relatively ease in relation to changing social and political conditions in the early 1920s. In August, 1925, PASKYULA organized the Korea Artista Proletaria Federatio with the YeomGunSa, and laid the groundwork for Proletariat art movement which was regularized in the late 1920s. From PASKYULA up to the early state of KAPF, the theory of art advocated by Kim Bok-Jin and An Seok-Ju could be summarized as "art for MinJung". At that time, widely ranging discourses on MinJung, however, was spawned in art theory, because many intellectuals-including artists and writers-begun to pay more attention to MinJung, who emerged as one of the social forces after the Samil Independent Movement. Sometimes, MinJung was construed as the target of enlightenment from a negative viewpoint. On the other hand, several intellectuals under the influence of individualism asserted that the discussion itself on MinJung exerted an evil influence on art. In contrast of these cases, the PASKYULA artists including Kim Bok-Jin, An Seok-Ju perceived that MinJung had the potential to change society, and regarded them as "a creator of genuine civilization and art". In the PASKYULA artist's writings, the concept of MinJung was often overlapped with the meaning of the Choson nation suffering under colony. Although their concept of MinJung was transformed gradually into the proletariat as they were under the strong influence of socialism, it did not change that they grasped the realities of the whole Choson Peninsula through the proletarian consciousness. In the early state of PASKYULA, the methodology for social function of art was presented in a twofold manner. First of all, Kim Bok-Jin emphasized on the necessity of education to improve MinJung's way of life through art, and it was embodied by the organization of ToWol Art Workshop and public lecture. Also, he championed "the popularization of art", which was one of methods to distribute art to MinJung. According to the PASKYULA artists, art should be not art for art' sake but art for MinJung. That was why they advocated the convergence of art and MinJung's life. Especially Kim Bok-Jin affirmed a link between art and industry because he considered industry the field inextricably linked with MinJung's life. In this context, his idea could be read as the generalization and equalization within the framework of possession. Kim Bok-Jin thought that the social ramifications of capitalism deprived MinJung of their right to enjoy art, and emphasized the artist' social role to return the right to them. That is, the even distribution of art was mainly discussed than the contents of art in the half of 1920s. By 1925, the contents of art itself became an issue in the PASKYULA art theory, and it was based in realism. Kim Bok-Jin and An Seok-Ju insisted that art should be reflection of real life. At that time, realism acquired the representation of MinJung and the nation's realities not realistic style. In fact, the various Western art styles including Futurism, Constructivism, Cubism etc. were exploited in the PASKYULA's visual images. Western art, target of criticism on theory, was selectively adopted in the works which were produced by Kim Bok-Jin and An Seok-Ju. Kim Bok-Jin's MoonYeUnDong cover design was conceived of as the example in which Western art was adopted with it's ideology under the influence of MAVO, while Western art shown in An Seok-Ju's illustrations served as a decorative function in many cases. Especially, An Seok-Ju attempted the various styles of Western art simultaneously, which may be seen as representing that PASKYULA did not have a firm ideology for their style. Also, it can be read as showing his hasty zeal to overcome Western art rapidly. The wish to establish "art for MinJung" as soon as possible was accompanied with the will to jump over the all steps of Western art though it was superficial. This aspiration of PASKYULA was expressed through the mass media, which had the potential for communicating to MinJung. At this point, there was a significant disparity between PASKYULA and another art groups in the first half of 1920s. However, the PASKYULA's method on the basis of the mass media could not but have a certain limitation because of the medium's properties. Nevertheless, PASKYULA' attempts may be considered to be valuable in sense that they expended the boundaries of Korean modern art into the commercial art questioning the matter of the distribution for art.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.27-39
• /
• 2011

The study on Musan twelve peaks of Yongho garden in Jinju, Gyeongnam was anticipated to provide data and implication for reproducing similar spaces and modern changes in terms of design factor since it is the prototype of traditional mount for overcoming monotonous geographical features and intriguing changes and interests. The study analyzed and interpreted the symbolism of twelve peaks, principles of space composition and function and effect of visual construction that were pursued by the builder in terms of landscape view, which results are as following. The center of Yongho garden, Yonghoji(龍虎池) is a typical man-made pond for a supportive feng shui feature. It is a supporting equipment to complete the state of feng shui, and the result of strengthening the completion through the connection with the dragon-related name of the place. The shape of Musan twelve peaks looks like an oval form of Geumseongsan(金星山), 2~3.5m in height and 6~12m in diameter. Peaks are estimated as 1.5~3.7m(2.4m in average) in height, $35{\sim}138m^2$($73.4m^2$ in average) in area, and $30.7{\sim}115.0m^3$($62.5m^3$ in average) in volume. Given that Yonghojeong(龍虎亭), Soseon(小船), the site of main building and Yongsanjae(龍山齋) stand in line, Yonghoji was presumed as the state of enlightenment through ascribing the meaning to virtue and secularity. For the intention of realizing Musan twelve peaks, the builder probably had mounted twelve peaks forming the body of dragons with crossing the point corresponding to a head of tiger, and located Musan twelve peaks and Yonghojeong with a representation of dragons holding Cintamani rising into the sky in the center. The middle area near Musan twelve peaks surrounded by peaks like Geumseongsan running north and south shows a multi-structure of multilayer, maintaining the similarity centering on Yonghoji. It is considered the intention of mount planned at the time of Musan twelve peaks construction, caused by similar form harmony. Internalization of progressive realization through concealment and exposure, enframement effect and spatial order like prospect-refuge theory in the mount of Musan twelve peaks is considered the reflection of the intention to increase depth of the view and expectancy through the various degree of exposure and surroundings of each peak and the colorful combination of viewing and shutting. The "closed view" by Musan twelve peaks creates interesting, vivid and attractive recognition of the view, which is more effective in bringing depth of the view and interests in terms of the geographical design, particularly the area around Yonghoji. Moreover, it was identified that the combination of peaks can be formed resulted from the view configuration concerning the location through multilayer effect reveals an island through the other one when viewed from Yonghojeong.