Research Article
Space in Early Joseon Landscape Painting
덕성여자대학교
Published: December 2015 · No. 288 · pp. 5-31
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31065/ahak.288.288.201512.001
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Abstract
This article surveys the symbolic meaning and socio-political implications represented in the themes of Eight Views of the Four Seasons and Scholar Official’s Gathering. In Eight Views of the Four Seasons, different images of the nature according to the change of the four seasons were depicted. The images of the landscape and other symbolic materials in the space between the sky and the earth reflect the change of Eumyang(Yinyang in Chinese), the fundamental law of nature. The change of landscape painting themes from, which represents the four seasons by four scenes, to Eight Views of the Four Seasons, depicting four seasons by eight scenes, is related to the popular format of poetry in the early Joseon period, which described the eight views of four seasons and Eight views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. In Eight Views of the Four Seasons, we can find regularity and repeatability upon expression of space, composition, motives, and techniques. This means that the changeability and the homeostasis are coexisting in this type of paintings. The court and Confucian officials’ ordered and collected these paintings, thus reflecting values they admire upon them. They had the Confucian view of nature and politics based on the thinking of The I Ching (The Book of Changes). The paintings of scholar official ’s gathering represented real landscapes where the meetings were held. Jecheonjeong pavillion, located east of Hangang River and Jamdubong hill, located West of Hangang River are two famous places in which the gatherings of scholar officials were often held. In the paintings of these meetings, the scene of gathering was depicted in the foreground while beautiful scenery was often represented in the middle and far grounds. In making the space and the composition, the viewpoint of jomang 眺望 and the concept of pungsu 風水 were inputted. The jomang was a popular way to observe and depict nature in this period and delivers the pride of the officials who joined the government to make their political idealism into reality. The pungsu(fengshui in Chinese) was the most popular concept of interpreting the topographic characteristic of specific places in the Joseon period. The paintings visualize ideal landscapes that imply the materialization of ideal political values of Confucianism. The Eight Views of the Four Seasons and Scholar Official ’s Gathering in the early Joseon period became popular as an art that reflects idealistic Confucian values in visual format. It was mainly patronized by the court and officials to support Confucianism as a main ideology.
