PRAYER

HISTORY
OF
KOREAN
ARTS
The History of Korean Painting
 

The history of Korean painting stretches back to the early

murals painted on the walls of tombs during the fourth century,
and continues to the present, in which a great number of
Korean artists keep the styles and forms of the traditional
artists alive, blend the traditional styles with modern motifs, or
paint in a completely modern style.
 Types of Korean Paintings
• Landscape - Often called the realistic landscape school, the practice of
painting landscapes based on actual scenes became more popular during
the mid-Chosun period. During this time, many painters traveled the
countryside in search of beautiful scenery to paint.
• Genre - Genre painting, as this has come to be called, is the most
uniquely Korean of all the painting styles and gives us a historic look into
the daily lives of the people of the Chosun period.
LANDSCAPE
GENRE
 Minhwa
•  Minhwa, or folk paintings are by far the most interesting of the traditional
Korean paintings. The characteristics of Minhwa paintings are that they
were all painted by unknown artists, and all were painted near the end of,
or after the Chosun period. Though many of them appear rather childish,
and unrefined, quite a number display great painting skill. Under
the Minhwa category of paintings are many sub-categories.
 Minhwa Sub Categories
 Landscape Paintings - Some of the most common of the Minhwa genre, Minhwa landscape paintings
can follow any of the traditional styles from the earlier periods.
 Magpies and Tigers - One of the most popular themes next to landscapes, the tigers are usually
depicted in a comical manner and are shown with a magpie squawking at them from a tree - the
magpie is considered a carrier of good news.
 Flowers and Birds - Paintings with flowers are usually quite colorful while those that depict animals
generally show animals in pairs with the Sun, or Moon. These motifs can be seen on some modern
celadon, lacquered boxes, and music boxes as well.
 Peonies - The peony symbolizes wealth, honors and high social position and is used extensively
in Minhwa paintings as well as in celadon.
    
  
 Minhwa Sub Categories
Lotus Flowers - Though it originally represented the Sun and the mercy of Buddha,
in Minhwa paintings it has come to represent high government officials.
The Ten Longevity Symbols - The symbols are the Sun, clouds, mountains, rocks, water,
cranes, deer, turtles, pine trees, and mushrooms. These symbols can be found in
many Minhwa paintings and also on modern lacquered boxes and celadon designs.
Dragons - The dragon can represent a variety of meanings including repelling evil spirits and
bringing rain.
Paintings of Tiger Hide - As the cost of real tiger hides was prohibitive, paintings that
resembled tiger skin were used to provoke the tigers' power as a guardian.
 Minhwa Sub Categories
Fish and Crabs - Usually appear in pairs kissing or otherwise being amorous.
Manchurian Hunting Scenes - Used as a sign of bravery these paintings often decorated
military quarters.
One Hundred Children - Representing the 100 children from heaven they reflect a wish for
many, healthy descendants.
Paintings of the Life Cycle - Used primarily to depict the life of a scholar-official.
Bookcases and Scholars' Rooms - Similar to a Western still-life, these paintings showed the
accoutrements of a scholar.
Shamanistic Deities - These paintings usually showed shamanistic rites or deities.
MINHWA
 Four Gracious Plants

•   The Four Gracious Plants, alternately called the Four Gentlemanly Plants, or the Four
Seasons symbols, consist of plum blossoms, orchids or wild orchids, chrysanthemums,
and bamboo. They were originally Confucian symbols for the four qualities of a
learned man, but are now more commonly associated with the four seasons. They are
plum blossoms which represented courage, the orchid stood for refinement, the
chrysanthemum was a sign of a productive, and fruitful life, and bamboo represented
integrity. In modern times, the four have come to be associated with the seasons as
well; plums blossoms bravely bloom in the cold of an early spring, orchids disseminate
a dim fragrance far in the heat of summer, chrysanthemums overcome the first cold of a
late fall and bloom, and bamboo bares its green leaves even in the winter.
THE 4 GRACIOUS PLANT
 Portraits

Portraits were painted throughout Korean

history but were produced in greater numbers
during the Chosun period. The main subjects
of the portraits were kings, meritorious
subjects, elderly officials, literati or
aristocrats, women, and Buddhist monks.
PORTRAIT
 ACTIVITY 2.2

• IDENTIFY THE WORD BEING

DESCRIBE. WRITE YOUR
ANSWER ON YOUR ACTIVITY
NOTEBOOK.
1)IT IS BELIEVED THAT THIS ART FORM
STARTED FROM 108 B.C.

A.JAPANESE ART
B.CHINESE ART
C.KOREAN ART
2. IT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE PRIMARY
INFLUENCER OF KOREAN PAINTINGS.

A.CHINESE ART
B.KOREAN ART
C.EAST ASIAN ARTS
3. The most interesting of the traditional Korean
paintings

A.CALLIGRAPHY
B.PORTRAIT
C.MINHWA
4. Painted throughout Korean history but were
produced in greater numbers during the Chosun
period. 

A.CALLIGRAPHY
B.PORTRAIT
C.MINHWA
5. Alternately called the Four Seasons symbols

A.MINHWA
B.FOUR GRACIOUS PLANTS
C. LANDSCAPE
 6-10

•LIST DOWN AT LEAST 5

SUB CATEGORIES OF
MINHWA