Although images of animals occupied an important place in Chosŏn-dynasty (1392–1910) paintings, along with landscapes, figures, “Four Gentlemen” (i.e., bamboo, plum, orchid and chrysanthemum), genre pictures and folk paintings, very little research has hitherto been conducted on animal pictures in recent scholarship. This is due to the paucity of documentary sources which can shed light on the content and style of the animal paintings themselves. However, examination of some important Korean animal pictures reveals a number of salient features unique to Korean animal paintings, particularly a warmth and intimacy conveying close relationships among animals. Since distinctive visual elements in Chosŏn-dynasty animal images have not been explored in recent scholarship, it is necessary to undertake a preliminary study of these important stylistic characteristics. This article analyzes a selected number of delightful and moving paintings associated with highly celebrated artists, including Yi Am (1499–died after 1545), Sin Saimdang (1504–1551), Kim Sik (1579–1662), and Pyŏn Sangbyŏk (eighteenth c.). By studying the depiction of animals’ poses, behavior and facial expressions within a broader compositional format, this article elucidates the ways by which major Chosŏn-dynasty artists imparted warm and affectionate feelings through the recurring motifs of animals turning toward each other. Furthermore, this paper explores the possibility that important practitioners of animal imagery perceived a certain kind of order in animals’ social lives, not unlike the Confucian relations among human beings in Chosŏn society.
목차
SOME IMPORTANT EXAMPLES OF CHOSŎN-DYNASTY ANIMAL PAINTINGS CONCLUSION
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.