This composition follows the traditional Korean Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks screens (irworobongdo) that stood behind the king’s throne during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). The throne and screen symbolized the ruler’s position at the center of the universe. Her Suyoung reinterprets the royal theme in the manner of Chinese ink painting, eschewing the bright polychrome originally found in the screens at court. This reinterpretation raises questions about the rhetoric of kingship, cultural interaction, and identity issues. In a palace setting, the ruler seated on the throne occupies the cosmological landscape in the screen. In the monochromatic reinterpretation not only are the colors gone but the monarchy is also no longer present.
Painting: 90.9 x 270.9 cm. (35 13/16 x 106 5/8 in.)
Overall: 170.5 x 294.0 cm. (67 1/8 x 115 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund and gift of the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art
Object Number
2013-3
Place Made
Asia, Korea
Description
Her Suyoung (born 1972) learned traditional Korean ink painting at Seoul National University before going to China to study ink painting at Tianjin University. After returning to Korea, he joined the faculty of Jeonju University in South Korea. One detects in Her’s brushwork the influences of the Chinese painter Wang Meng (ca. 1308–1385), one of the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368), as well as elements of Northern Song (960–1127) monumental landscape painting. In this folding screen, he combines Chinese monochrome ink painting techniques with a traditional Korean landscape theme of the sun, moon and five peaks. In his meticulous brushwork he creates different hues of black ink and white paper to describe the various forms in a visually dramatic and engaging manner. In the center is a large mountain peak built up from textured layers of brushed rocks and dark trees. The exposed tree trunks stand out like lightning bolts against the dark ink surround of the leaves. Flanking the central massif are pairs of distant mountain peaks with a foreground river receding to the left and right. In the sky over the peaks at left is a crescent moon, and at right a bright sun. Framing the entire composition at far left and right are pairs of tall pines that are firmly rooted to the rocks and rise up to the height of the mountains and celestial orbs. This composition follows the Korean traditional Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks screens (irworobongdo) that stood behind the king's throne during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). The throne and screen symbolized the position of the ruler at the center of the universe. It has been suggested that the images of the sun and moon represent universal harmony, with the king as the solar yang force and the queen as the lunar yin. The Sun Moon screens possibly began to be used after the late sixteenth century in royal palaces such as the Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul (see illus.). Records indicate that workshops maintained a supply of such screens but only about twenty originals still survive today. In Her Suyoung's screen the sun, moon and five peaks theme is reinterpreted in a Chinese ink painting manner, eschewing the bright polychrome as it was originally executed at the Joseon dynasty court. This reinterpretation of a Korean royal pictorial tradition raises many questions about the rhetoric of kingship, cultural interaction, and identity issues. In a palace setting, the ruler seated on the throne occupies the cosmological landscape in the screen. In the monochrome reinterpretation, not only are the colors gone but the monarchy is also no longer present.
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Korean, Modern period (1912–present), Her Suyoung 허수영 (born 1972), Sun and Moon, 2012. Six-panel folding screen; ink on paper; 90.9 x 270.9 cm (Painting), 170.5 x 294 cm. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund and gift of the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art (2013-3)
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https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/objects/86033
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