THE НWAJOHWA GENRE (BIRD-AND-FLOWER PAINTING)IN KOREAN TRADITIONAL PAINTING OF THE LATE CHOSŎN PERIOD (18th - EARLY 20th CENTURIES)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the hwajohwa artistic genre (bird-and-flower painting) of the late Chosŏn period (18th - early 20th centuries). The study identifies the historical and cultural context and traces the stylistic evolution of the bird-andflower genre. The national features inherent in Korean hwajohwa painting, as well as the influence of traditional Chinese styles and Western European painting techniques on the bird-and-flower genre, are noted. The author outlines the leading artists working in this genre. In the 18th century, the bird-and-flower painting in Korea underwent a significant transformation. The work of professional artists Chŏng Sŏn and Pyŏn Sangbyŏk presents a new realistic approach to hwajohwa painting. Artists began to carefully observe the structural characteristics of the depicted objects of wildlife. Also, artist Sim Sajŏng was a recognised master of the bird-and-flower genre. His work was based on the Chinese “southern school” pictorial principles and aesthetics, the influence of which was strong in Korea. Kim Hondo, the leading artist of the late Chosŏn period, actively used traditional landscape as a background for his works with flowers and birds. However, in depicting living creatures, he did not use formal templates, painting birds in realistic nature scenes. Kim Hondo contributed significantly to the development of Korean traditional painting and the hwajohwa genre. The popularity of the bird-and-flower genre in the late Chosŏn period is mainly due to economic growth and the improvement in the welfare of ordinary people. Most of the works of this genre were created by artists from the people. The works were examples of the so-called minhwa folk painting, which developed in accordance with the requests of a new customer, a native of the lower and middle classes. Such works combined auspicious symbols and were the embodiment of the highest harmony of nature. However, they also began to be used simply to decorate the house. In the hwajohwa painting of the 19th century, a new approach to the depiction of an artist’s personal experiences was reflected; such trends were mixed with the traditional “painting of ideas”. The birdand-flower genre acquired a free style and conveyed fresh aesthetic feelings under the influence of the work of artist Chang Sŭngŏp, whose pictorial approaches were continued and developed by masters at the very end of the Chosŏn era.