Hawk Paintings (鷹圖)
Hawk Paintings, known as eung-do were also frequently produced for export. In Japan, hawks were prized for their hunting ability and came to symbolize the courageous warrior. As such, they were a favorite subject for Japanese samurai who had been producing and collecting paintings of hawks as far back as the Sengoku (戰國) period. In Korea, the most frequently produced hawk paintings fell into a number of categories including paintings of a hawk on a perch (gaeung-do 架鷹圖), paintings of a hawk on a pine tree (songeung-do 松鷹圖) and paintings of a white hawk (baekeung-do 柏鷹圖). These types of paintings were some of the most frequently exported paintings at the Waegwan.
Painting of Pine Tree and Hawk (松鷹圖)
Lee Sumin, Joseon dynasty, 18-19th century, 116.2x37.9cm, ink and color on silk, Tokyo National Museum of Japan
ⓒColBase (https://colbase.nich.go.jp/)
Lee Sumin (1783-1839) was a famous Joseon painter who’s work was especially highly regarded in Japan. His connection to Japan traced back to his grandfather, Lee Seongnin (1718-1777) who participated in an envoy to Japan in the Mujin year (1748). Painting of Pine Tree and Hawk housed in the Tokyo National Museum, is an example of the type of formalized paintings of hawks that were popular export paintings in the late Joseon period.
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