Painting of a Figure in a Landscape

(山水人物圖)

Yi Sinul, Joseon dynasty, 18-19th century, ink and color on paper, 96.5X31.0cm, Busan Museum of Korea ⓒemuseum 

UNESCO Memory of the World

This painting combines a close-up view of a landscape with a distant view. In the foreground, the artist depicts small, sloping hills with a few trees and a vacant structure atop a cliff. For the mountains in the distant background, the artist applies mi-dot texture strokes. In terms of composition and style, this painting reflects current painting trends inspired by the Southern School style of literati painting that was popular in the Eighteenth Century. 

Landscape Painting (山水圖)

Goe Won, Joseon dynasty, 18-19th century, ink and color on paper, 80.5X47.2cm, Busan Museum of Korea ⓒemuseum

This landscape was produced by a professional painter known as Goe Won who produced paintings for export at the Waegwan. Like Yi Sinul’s work, Goe’s painting includes key features of the Southern school style of painting such as a sparse hilly landscape in the foreground and long mi-dot texture strokes. At the bottom right, the inscription “Joseon” suggests that the painting was intended for export to Japan.