I INTRODUCTION

True-view landscape paintings of the late Joseon Dynasty represent an important artistic trend in the history of Korean culture. While there is nothing extraordinary about Joseon artists painting their native land, the development of true-view landscape painting, including the work of Jeong Seon (鄭敾, 1676-1759; sobriquet, Gyeomjae), is considered a landmark in the literary and artistic history of the late Joseon Dynasty. One reason is that it represents a quantum leap from the early-Joseon mode of landscape painting, which was largely inspired by Chinese styles from the Song and Ming dynasties. The emergence of true-view landscape painting (眞景山水畵, jingyeong sansuhwa), therefore, embodies the will of contemporary Korean artists to turn their attention back to their native land, refusing to follow Chinese ideals of landscape beauty. Ultimately, it was a notable shift from illusionary idealism to truthful realism.

Above all, the real significance of true-view landscape painting is found in the painters’ abandonment of a long-established mannerism to create an art form that could best express the reality of their beloved homeland. Hence, in terms of cultural history, at least, greater value is placed on paintings with place names in their titles. True-view landscape painting enjoyed a surge in popularity in the 18th century, during which a vast number of great painters were produced under the influence of Jeong Seon. The ideology behind this new mode of painting and its formal characteristics were consistent with Silhak (實學), the school of “practical learning,” which advocated values like reality, originality, unrestrained expression of sensibilities, and pursuit of a “Joseon style,” as well as other new trends of the time in literature, music and the performing arts.1

Recently, old literary anthologies from the late Joseon Dynasty have been newly found or rediscovered in substantial numbers. These books contain numerous poems, afterwords and critiques about paintings, many of which are art and literature theories on the subject of true-view landscape painting.2 In addition, scholars of Korean painting history tend to show increased reliance on literature for their research, and are also eager to discover new literary materials on painting. It is a beneficial trend that will enrich materials for historical research.

Writings that combine the subjects of literature and painting, however, often run the risk of disregarding the fundamental difference between these two fields of study. While poems (題詩), colophons (跋文), and critiques (畵評) about paintings are primary sources in literature, they are only secondary sources in art history.

To take an example, few of the landscape paintings of Jeong Seon are a faithful depiction of the actual scenery. Specifically, his paintings of the Diamond Mountain (金剛山, Mt. Geumgang or Geumgangsan, located in today’s North Korea), while bearing the most salient features of his artistic style, show the greatest degree of distortion and modification. Yet his contemporaries lavished praise on his works with such false descriptions as: “exact likeness (形似, hyeongsa)” that reveals “both physical (形神) and spiritual qualities (神似)” of the subject; “corporeal expression of emotional resonance (傳神)” of the majestic scenery; or “great accuracy (寫眞)” that reveals the psychological meaning embedded in the subject.” In some extreme cases, expressions like “complete mirror image (臨鏡寫照)” or “lifelike illusion (眞幻)” are exaggerations that are pure fantasy. While some of these descriptions are almost fictional, they may have some importance to literature. But as a reference for art history, the wording often serves as an obstacle for objective analysis of individual paintings as it can lead to false interpretations.

Korean ink and wash landscape painting has limitations in expressing the color and texture of the landscape due to some innate properties of the materials. For example, Samil Lake (三曰浦, a lake near Haegeum River in North Korea) was extolled for its deep blue color and glossy surface, often likened to a woman of sumptuous beauty. When Shim Sajeong (沈師正, 1707-1769; sobriquet, Hyeonjae) painted the place, he chose pale jade-green paper, probably taking the colors of the sky and water into account. In the painting he created, however, using hemp-fiber strokes (披麻皴) with the dry-brush technique (渴筆) and light colors, there is nothing sumptuous about the lake. The white clouds, blue sky, green woods and the water reflecting them were not expressed in the vivid colors we would see in the actual scenery. The same applies to Jeong Seon’s paintings of Samil Lake created around the same time.3

The weakness of ink landscapes by the two Joseon masters is apparent when compared with a painting of the same subject using Western materials, “Samil Lake” (三日浦, Samilpo, acrylic on canvas, 112 x 145 cm, private collection) from 1999 by Kang Yobae. Employing a bird’s-eye view (俯瞰視), Kang depicted the lake with a pale sun and early moon reflected on the water. From this color painting it is possible to truly appreciate the actual scenic beauty of the lake.

This shortcoming of ink landscape painting is confirmed again when it is compared with Dutch landscape paintings of the 17th century and later works from Europe. While I traveled around the Netherlands in the summer of 2007, I saw “View of Delft” (oil on canvas, 96.5 x 115.7 cm, Mauritshuis Museum, The Hague) painted in 1660-1661 by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675). Impressed, I went right away to see the actual site. It was as if the cityscape along the canal under the clear sky had been preserved just as it was depicted in the 17th-century landscape painting. It occurred to me that the landscape I had seen in the painting must be an illusion (幻影) but a truly lifelike illusion (眞幻) of the scenery that I was looking at with my own eyes.4 This realistic style influenced 18th-century Chinese and Japanese oil paintings and etchings. Major Chinese examples are oil paintings like “Emperor Qianlong on the Archery Field” (乾隆射箭圖) by Jean-Denis Attiret (王致誠, 1702-1768) and “Dyeing Factory” (織染工場) by an unknown artist.5 In the Edo period, Japan, Shiba Kokan (司馬江漢, 1747-1818) was a famous Western-style artist. His engravings like “The View from Mimeguri” (三圍景, 1783) and “Mt. Fuji in Suruga Province” (駿州八部富士, post 1787) reveal the strong influence of Dutch painting.6

Painting in 18th-century Joseon also went through new changes,7 but with few elements of European influence.8 Although three-dimensional shading and perspective were partly employed, neither color etchings nor oil paintings were produced as in Edo Japan and Qing China. Instead, the true-view landscape paintings of Jeong Seon and many of his contemporaries became a fixed trend, achieving a unique Joseon style.

It is my personal belief that Joseon true-view landscape painting deserves a place in the world history of art. To prove my point, I attempted a comparison of the work of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), credited as the father of modern Western painting, with that of Jeong Seon.9 In the summer of 2001, I visited southern France, the home of the French artist. While analyzing the multiple viewpoints and bird’s-eye view employed in his landscapes, I realized that it was the viewpoint (視方式) and angle of view (畵角) that make Korean true-view landscape painting so original. The idea for this paper was formed during that trip.

II CLOSE, OR NOT SO CLOSE, TO REALITY

I visited many of the places depicted in the true-view landscape paintings of the late Joseon Dynasty—including the Yeongnam region in 1980 and the Diamond Mountain in 1998—to compare the paintings with the actual scenes they represent.10 After the field surveys, I classified the paintings into two categories. One category is paintings that bear no resemblance to the place identified in the title. In this case, it is presumed the artist painted from memory a short time or a long time after visiting the place. The second category is paintings that bear a close resemblance to the place identified in the title. In this case, the artist is presumed to have made a full sketch, or at least a rough draft, on the spot and completed the painting later elsewhere. Interestingly, this classification also applies to 20th-century landscapes of the Diamond Mountain, to which painters from South Korea have limited access.11

These two categories also represent two different methods typically adopted when painting a given subject. One is “representation” of the external appearance. In theories of Asian painting, it is close to the concept of hyeongsa (形似, realism), making a copy of what is physically visible. The other is “expression” of the artist’s emotional response to the subject, which is close to the concept of saui (寫意, impressions), emphasis of the psychological meaning associated with the subject. Based on this distinction, painting from memory is a method inclined to emotional expression, while painting from real life promotes accurate representation.

As is widely known, Jeong Seon was by far the most talented and prolific painter of true-view landscape painting. He brought the new style to perfection, and the majority of existing paintings of the kind are attributed to him. In this paper as well, Jeong Seon accounts for the greatest portion of the chapters about individual artists grouped together by style.12

This imbalance implies the unrivaled status that Jeong Seon occupied in true-view landscape painting. He excelled in style and artistry, as well as in choice of place. There were few sites of scenic beauty in Joseon that he did not explore. From the Diamond Mountain to Gwandong palgyeong (關東八景, the eight most scenic spots in eastern Korea), he painted all the most beautiful and famous sites, including the temples, Confucian academies, and provincial government offices he came across during his painting trips. In Seoul as well, either on commission or for pure joy, he painted a variety of famous places as well as houses, villas, and offices along the Han River (漢江), including Cheongsong Pavilion (靑松) and Jangdong palgyeong (壯洞八景, the eight most scenic spots in Jangdong, Seoul).13

Afterwards, Jeong’s followers and literati painters like Shim Sajeong and Yi Insang (李麟祥 1710-1760; sobriquet, Neunghogwan) broadened the potential of true-view landscape painting by introducing diverse stylistic elements. Succeeding this tradition, Kim Hongdo (金弘道, 1745-?; sobriquet, Danwon) made groundbreaking achievements for further development.14 Even so, Jeong’s work still serves as the standard for analyzing works of these subsequent painters.

To Jeong, great accuracy of depiction was not of pivotal importance. True-view landscape painters can be divided into two groups: those who painted like Jeong Seon and those who painted with a close resemblance to reality. Kim Hongdo, with his superb skill for faithful depiction, falls under the second category. Considered chronologically, Jeong Seon’s style, which made bold modifications to the actual scenery, dominated the early 18th century (reign of King Yeongjo, 1724-1776), and Kim’s style, faithful to reality, prevailed in the late 18th century (reign of King Jeongjo, 1776-1800).15

Years ago, I sorted out this idea with the following statement: “King Yeongjo’s reign coincides with the age of Jeong Seon, who produced the solemn, early classical style, and King Jeongjo’s reign coincides with the age of Kim Hongdo, who created the varied and cheerful, late classical style based on complete internalization of the earlier style. In its last phase, the style of the golden age declined into mannerism. Just as late Joseon painting was hallmarked by the emergence of true-view landscape painting, the course of the former followed the development, sophistication and decline of the latter.”16 At the time, I had a debate with Professor Shim Gwang-hyeon (沈光鉉) on the social phenomena and cultural and artistic changes related with this topic.17

Later, I also attempted a different classification into Daoist and realistic true-view landscape painters. I placed Jeong Seon and his followers, Yi Insang, and Yun Jehong (尹濟弘, 1764-?; sobriquet, Haksan) in the first category, and Shim Sajeong and Kim Hongdo in the second.18

While looking through numerous true-view landscape paintings in preparation for this paper, I reconsidered this topic and came to the assumption that Jeong Seon’s unrealistic landscapes were mostly painted from memory, while Kim Hongdo’s realistic landscapes were recreated from actual scenery. Based on this assumption, I examined the difference in composition between the memory-dependent Daoist landscapes and the site-dependent realistic landscapes. I found out that the paintings fell under one of two types: those where the whole scene could be framed within the viewfinder of a 35mm camera and those where it could not.

Jeong Seon’s landscape paintings usually depict a scene that cannot be captured with a lens of 28-50mm focal length. Only a wide-angle lens shorter than 28mm or a panoramic lens can contain the scene in one frame. On the contrary, most scenes in Kim Hongdo’s works can be framed in the viewfinder of a camera with a 35-50mm lens, which is similar to the angle of view employed in European paintings of the 17th-19th centuries. This experiment shows how a viewpoint—such as a bird’s-eye view, multiple viewpoints, a moving viewpoint—and the angle of view can serve as criteria to distinguish between painting from actual scenery and painting from memory.

Viewing the landscape is as creative an act as painting it.19 Landscapes have such great significance to humans as places for living that the choice of site, along with the viewpoint and the scope of the captured scene is a meaningful standard for appraising a landscape painting. Scholars of civil engineering and landscape studies claim that the human vertical and horizontal fields of view are 10° and 20°, respectively. Roughly speaking, it is an area covered by the hands with arms stretched out in front.20 Our field of view is much narrower than we presume. Given this fact, Jeong Seon had a field of view five times wider than normal.

It is commonly said that when we look ahead fixedly at a certain object, the widest range of vision is 60°. However, the Korea Ophthalmological Society claims that an adult can see as wide as 150° and children 130°.21 Back to the first claim, if humans can see 60° in the horizontal field with ease, this is equivalent to the angle of view covered by a 35mm lens. A 50mm standard lens generally covers 46°; 28mm and 17mm wide-angle lenses 75° and 104°, respectively; and 85mm and 135mm telephoto lenses 29° and 18°, respectively.22

With this information, I set off to analyze true-view landscape paintings one by one on the actual sites. On previous field trips I used to carry a camera with a 50mm standard lens and 35mm and 28mm wide-angle lenses. For a trip to the Diamond Mountain in August 1998, however, I carried a 180° panoramic lens, too.

III PAINTERS WHO RELIED ON MEMORY

Like their master Jeong Seon, some of his followers relied on memory at the expense of accuracy: Choe Buk (崔北, 1712-1786; sobriquet, Hosaenggwan), Jeong Hwang (鄭榥, 1735-?; sobriquet, Sonam), Kim Eunghwan (金應煥, 1742-1789; sobriquet, Bokheon), and Sin Hakgwon (申鶴權, 1785-1866, sobriquet, Doam). But another group of Jeong’s followers showed interest in accurate description: Kim Yun-gyeom (金允謙, 1711-1775; sobriquet, Jinjae) and Jeong Chungyeop (鄭忠燁, 1725-?; sobriquet, Yiho). Some literati painters also preferred to paint from memory: Yi Insang, Heo Pil (許佖, 1709-1761; sobriquet, Yeongaek), Yi Yunyeong (李胤永, 1714-1759; sobriquet, Danneung), Yun Jehong (尹濟弘, 1764~?; sobriquet, Haksan), and Yi Bang-un (李昉運, 1761-?; sobriquet, Giya). Consequently, their works bear a similar level of resemblance to the actual scenery in Jeong Seon’s work, that is, less than 50 percent.

01 JEONG SEON

It seems that Jeong Seon was not interested in depicting the actual scenery as faithfully as possible. With one or two exceptions such as “After Rain at Mt. Inwang” (仁王霽色圖, Inwangjesaekdo, ink on paper, 79.2 x 138.2 cm, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art), most of his landscape paintings bear little resemblance to the actual scenery, probably because he painted mostly from memory.

Jeong’s landscape paintings have deep emotional resonance because they express not only the actual topography of the site but also the artist’s impression or feelings about the landscape. A good example is “Bagyeon Falls” (朴淵瀑圖, Bagyeonpokdo, ink on paper, 119.5 x 52 cm, private collection) painted in the 1750s. The water crashing down from the falls has been expressed magnificently on the paper. By painting the falls twice as long as they are in reality and heightening the contrast of black ink and white paper, he managed to capture even the roaring sound of the water on a two-dimensional plane.23

The act of painting from memory involves a high degree of perception by the brain. Indeed, to recall shapes, looks, or sounds (of the falls, for example) is a highly intellectual process. Jeong was also a man of letters, well versed in the Chinese classics. A number of literary records refer to him as “a scholar devoted to The Book of Changes (周易) and The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸),” and state that his painting style was largely influenced by theories expounded in these works.24 The genealogical record of his family states that he wrote the book The Illustrated Account of the Book of Changes (圖說經解).25

The disparity in physical features between his landscape paintings and the actual scene was in fact a dominant style in the early Joseon period. To take his earlier work as an example, “Seongnyu Cave” (聖留窟, Seongnyugul, ink and light colors on paper, 27.3 x 28.5 cm, Kansong Art Museum), painted in the 1730s-40s, features at its center a rocky peak projecting skyward with small hills on the right and Wangpi River (王避川) on the left. In reality, however, the rocky peak and the adjacent hills are the same height. The exaggeration of the rocky peak at the center is in accordance with the composition of traditional landscapes. The surface of the rock was painted darker with repeated ink retouches, a technique originated from the axe-cut texture stroke (斧劈皴法) of the Chinese Northern School of painting. On the contrary, the hemp-fiber strokes and various dot texture strokes used to depict the earthy hills are techniques of the Chinese Southern School. Jeong Seon thus combined the two distinct styles to create his own original one.26 He also used this combination of techniques when painting other subjects, such as Danbal Ridge (斷髪嶺), various peaks of the Inner Diamond Mountain, the periphery of Mt. Inwang, and the Han River.

1) Landscape From a Bird’s-Eye View

Painted in 1734, “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (金剛全圖, Geumgangjeondo, ink and light color on paper, 130.7 x 59 cm, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art) is a masterpiece of landscape painting by Jeong Seon. Some have attempted to analyze this painting based on the Book of Changes, focusing on the circular composition of the taegeuk (太極, taiji, or the Great Ultimate) as well as the yin-yang contrast of the dot texture strokes (rendered pressing the brush sideways) for the earthy mountains and the vertical strokes (rendered holding the brush vertically) for the rocky mountains.27 Others have compared the rhythm of his brushstrokes to the prosody of Jeongcheol’s (鄭澈, 1536x1593; sobriquet, Songgang) poetry, which has a 4(3)-3 meter.28 As these extraordinary efforts indicate, Jeong’s style embraced these contrasting elements with intriguing harmony: rhythmical expression of emotion and logical reinterpretation of those feelings. It’s almost certain he was an artist with a cool head and a warm heart.

“General View of Mt. Geumgang” clearly shows the artist’s boldness in reconfiguring the scenery, using an unusual viewpoint—an aerial view—as if he had flown high into the sky and looked down on the entire mountain range with his head turning 360°, just like an owl. While the peaks in the upper middle section are seen from the front view, the rugged peaks on the sides are seen from the side. Together, the cluster of peaks creates a circular composition, which is quite a logical arrangement. In addition, the peaks rising one above another have been described with a high-distance perspective (高遠法). This unique viewpoint and composition emphasize the solemn beauty of the mountain and the originality of the artist (Figure 1).

( Figure 1 ) “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (金剛全圖), Jeong Seon, 1734, ink and light color on paper, 130.7 (h) x 59 (w) cm, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art

Although this painting does not name the peaks, focusing only on its aesthetic aspect, some of Jeong’s other paintings of the same mountain name various spots, for example, “Complete View of the Inner Mt. Geumgang” (金剛內山總圖, Geumgangsan naechongdo, 1711), part of The Album of Paintings of Geumgangsan in Autumn (楓嶽圖帖, Pungakdocheop, ink and light color on silk, 36 x 37.4 cm, National Museum of Korea) and “Complete Survey of the Inner Mt. Geumgang in Autumn” (楓嶽內山總覽, Pungaknaesan chongnam, 1720s-30s, colors on silk, 100.5 x 73.6 cm, Kansong Art Museum). With names of over 30 spots, including the peaks such as Biro Peak (毘盧峰), Hyeolmang Peak (穴望峰), Sohyangno Peak (小香爐峰), Daehyangno Peak(大香爐峰), and Junghyang Crags (衆香城); valleys of Manpok Valley (萬瀑洞) and Baekcheondong (白川洞); and temples including Jangan Temple (長安寺), Pyohun Temple (表訓寺), and Jeongyang Temple (正陽寺), these paintings are almost like three-dimensional maps. No map before or after Jeong Seon had such detailed information of the mountain. In other words, these comprehensive paintings of the Diamond Mountain have no precedent of any kind. They are a patchwork of memories of spots surveyed by the artist. Of course, Jeong’s memory must have failed him sometimes, resulting in the wrong position or different shape of a certain peak or spot. Saja Cliff (獅子岩) in the “General View of Mt. Geumgang” would be a good example.

The bird’s-eye view of the beautiful mountain captured in a circular composition contains all the peaks, valleys, and temples that Jeong visited on foot and memorized in his head. From Jangan Temple at the foot of the mountain to the highest Biro Peak, his viewpoint moved as he traveled. This way, he created a very original style that captured a wide expanse of mountain within a single frame. It is a wonderful idea that strikes a chord with anyone who has wished to see the whole spectacular mountain in one sight. This creative style is so closely associated with Koreans’ collective impression of the mountain that Jeong’s paintings of the Diamond Mountain have been loved by many people past and present.

When compared with the actual landscape, the top section of “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (with Biro Peak surrounded by Junghyang Crags) is similar to the scenery as viewed from Bangu Cliff (盤龜臺). The only difference is that Biro Peak, the main peak of the mountain, has a rather round top in the painting (Figure 2). In spite of its similarity to the real scene, the bird’s-eye view indicates that the painting was based on the artist’s memories, considering the impossibility of the painter flying up like a kite or a bird to get a view of this vast mountain from the sky. In short, Jeong used both his feet and his imagination to create this breathtaking painting.

( Figure 2 ) Biro Peak (毘盧峯) surrounded by Junghyang Crags (衆香城) in “General View of Mt. Geumgang”

In Biro Peak (毘盧峯, Birobong, ink on paper, 34.8 x 25.5 cm, private collection), which Jeong painted in the 1730s, the main peak has been extremely exaggerated, shooting skyward above the rugged crags of Junghyang Crags, perhaps in an attempt to emphasize the main peak’s towering presence. The painter’s whimsical boldness in wielding his brush is wonderfully expressed in a poem by his close friend Yi Byeongyeon (李秉淵, 1671-1751; sobriquet, Sacheon). An album of paintings and poetry, Transmission of the Spirit of the Ocean and Mountains (海岳傳神帖, Haeak jeonsincheop) contains the poem “My Friend Jeong Seon Paints Biro Peak in a Sea of Mist (鄭元伯霧中畵毘盧峯),” which reads as follows: “My friend Jeong Seon doesn’t even carry a brush. He steals one from me whenever he feels inclined to paint. Since his return from the Diamond Mountain, his brushstrokes have grown bold to the point of arrogance …”29 A line at the end of the same poem—“Full of mirth, he put aside the brush and just enjoyed himself in the mountain”—shows that the painter was more interested in enjoying the scenery than making sketches.

A decade ago, an American art historian and a geographer from Germany conducted a joint study to find the possible spot from which Jeong Seon painted the Diamond Mountain. This involved creating a three-dimensional version of a map of the mountain.30 The painting under investigation was “General View of the Inner Mt. Geumgang” (金剛內山全圖, Geumgang naesan jeondo, colors on ink, 33.3 x 54.8 cm, Monastery of St. Ottilien). Painted in the 1730s-40s, this painting depicts the inner part of the mountain, similar to Jeong’s 1742 work “Inner Mt. Geumgang” (金剛內山, Geumgang naesan, ink and light colors on silk, 32.6 x 49.5 cm, Kansong Art Museum). On the far right side of the canvas is Jangan Temple, and next to it, to the left, are Pyohun Temple and Jeongyang Temple. The earthen peaks, where several temples are nestled, are rendered with dot texture strokes and placed at the bottom and on the left of the canvas, encircling the rocky peaks in the middle.

The two scholars reported the result of their study as “disappointing.” Even with a map of the hypothetical topography, created by exaggerating the heights of the peaks, they could not find a single point that gave them a complete view of the entire area as depicted in the painting. This result confirms Jeong Seon’s unique viewpoint—the combination of a bird’s-eye view and a multiple viewpoint.

2) A Multiple Viewpoint and a Moving Point of View

Jeong Seon used a bird’s-eye view, a multiple viewpoint (多視點) and a moving point of view (視點移動), all in one painting. The combination of viewpoints is easily found in his paintings of the entire mountain viewed from Danbal Ridge, as well as other paintings of Jangan Temple and Jeongyang Temple and Manpok Valley and Baekcheondong valleys. Unlike “General View of Mt. Geumgang,” these paintings reveal the painter’s original way of viewing the subject. It is as if the artist painted them while moving in the sky above the scenery.

The Album of Paintings of the Mt. Geumgang in Autumn, completed in 1711, includes a painting that Jeong Seon created after returning from his first trip to the mountain: “Mt. Geumgang Viewed from Danbal Ridge” (斷髪嶺望金剛山, Danballyeongmang geumgangsan, ink and light colors on silk, 34.3 x 39 cm, National Museum of Korea). He painted the same scene 10-20 years later, and in the later version, titled “General View of Mt. Geumgang Viewed from Danbal Ridge” (斷髪嶺望金剛全圖, Danballyeongmang Geumgang jeondo, ink on paper, 25.7 x 28.5 cm, National Museum of Korea), the hill is lower and the mountain much higher. The painting dates to the 1730s, when the artist was in his late 40s or 50s. In reality, however, the mountain is barely visible from the hill. Many years after he had explored every nook and cranny of the mountain, Jeong might have found the mountain in his memory so imposing that he depicted it as clearly visible from the faraway hill.

The later version, “General View of Mt. Geumgang Viewed from Danbal Ridge” has two distinct sections: the hill on the right is depicted as if viewed from below, from the foot of the hill, while the mountain on the left is a distant bird’s-eye view. There are three people at the top of the hill. Two of them are holding a piece of drawing paper. The third, presumed to be Jeong Seon himself, is painting the distant mountain with his back to the viewer. Dressed in a horsehair hat and white robe, the painter must have made some preliminary sketches on the spot, admiring the view spread out before him. The scene has a horizontal field of view close to 90°, meaning the entire scene could be framed by a wide-angle lens with a focal length of less than 28mm. No painter before Jeong Seon had thought of adopting this wide range of field.

“Bihong Bridge at Jangan Temple” (長安寺飛虹橋, Jangansa Bihonggyo, colors on silk, 32 x 24.8 cm, Kansong Art Museum) from 1742, included in the Transmission of the Spirit of the Ocean and Mountains, gives a detailed view of the temple, similar to the simplified version that forms part of the 1734 work “General View of Mt. Geumgang.” The painting of the bridge at the foot of the mountain aptly illustrates how the painter used a moving point of view. Today, the arched bridge has been replaced by a horizontal concrete bridge, and only the site of the temple remains. However, a photograph of Jangan Temple taken in the 1930s shows that it was quite similar to the temple depicted in the painting. One obvious difference is the two-storey pavilion near the bridge, which is far closer to the water in the painting than in the photograph.

In the “Bihong Bridge…” painting the scenery is viewed from higher up in the sky, compared with the corresponding scene in “General View…” Jeong’s confidence and dexterity in brushstrokes resulted in the masterpiece expressed with an excellent gradation of ink. Somewhere in the wooded peaks on the left of the canvas would be a path to Jeongyang Temple, and on the right, across the stream, we can see a path up to Janggyeong Peak and Myeonggyeong Cliff. This composition is very similar to the view I saw at Jangan Temple site. However, the peaks in the background, including the faintly distant view of Gwaneum Peak (觀音峯) at the center, are twice as high as the actual peaks.

In this painting, following the ever-changing perspective of the painter, there are three distinct viewpoints: 1) Bihong Bridge viewed while approaching it from Naegang-ri; 2) Jangan Temple viewed from Bihong Bridge; and 3) Gwaneum Peak viewed from Jangan Temple. In 1998, I took two photographs at the site using a 35mm wide-angle lens, one of the temple bridge taken at a point downstream of the river and the other of the distant peak framed from the temple site. These two photographs represent the first and third viewpoints described above, while a photograph of Jangan Temple taken in the 1930s represents the second viewpoint. To reproduce the three separate viewpoints of the painting, the three photographs would have to be combined somehow in one frame. This analysis shows that Jeong Seon used a combination of a few different viewpoints recomposed in a bird’s-eye view (Figure 3).

( Figure 3 ) Comparison of Jeong Seon’s moving viewpoints.

Painted in the 1740s, the fan painting “Jeongyang Temple” (扇面正陽寺, ink and light color on paper, 22 x 61 cm, National Museum of Korea) has a complete view of the Inner Diamond Mountain, with the temple as the main subject. The temple is nestled in one of the wooded peaks on the left, over which rocky crags are spread wide to cover the entire fan. The painter’s signature (謙老) and the title of the painting at the top left indicate that this is one of his later works. Depicting Jeongyang Temple and the entire inner mountain viewed from Cheonil Cliff (天一臺), the painting clearly reveals the artist’s skill in capturing an extensive range of view (Figure 4).

( Figure 4 ) “Jeonggyang Temple” (扇面正陽寺), Jeong Seon, 1740s, ink and light color on paper, 22 (h) x 61 (w) cm, National Museum of Korea

A group of people, probably the painter and his party of travelers, is seen under the fir trees on Cheonil Cliff in the lower middle part of the fan. The field of view from the cliff that encompasses all the inner part of the mountain—including the peaks of Biro Peak, Junghyang Crags, Hyeolmang Peak, Daehyangno Peak and Sohyangno Peak—is almost 180°. The painter must have looked around the vast landscape turning his head from left to right, and then depicted them all in one scene. The painter’s group is pictured as seen from Banggwang Cliff (放光臺), the smaller peak of dotted texture at the far right bottom. In sum, this painting consists of three different viewpoints—the temple viewed from the cliff at the center; the rocky crags viewed from the same cliff; and the group of people viewed from the smaller cliff on the far right. All these different viewpoints are combined to produce a spectacular bird’s-eye view. There is no way to have this kind of view at any point on the land, which means this painting is a product of the painter’s imagination (Figure 5).

The two-storey structure in the temple complex shown in the painting is Heolseong Pavilion (歇惺樓). When I visited the Diamond Mountain in 1998, I took a picture of the inner mountain from the site of the now non-existent pavilion. However, neither my photograph of the pavilion nor the one taken in the 1930s can capture the mountain in the background as magnificently as the painting. Although I tried both a 20mm wide-angle lens and a panoramic camera, the trees on the border of the pavilion site have grown so high that a wide view of the mountain was impossible to obtain. Then, I realized that the landscape reconfigured based on the painter’s memory and imagination delivered a sense of reality even stronger than photographs.

The moving, multiple points of view employed in this painting is of great significance in understanding Jeong Seon’s landscape painting because this style is reflected in his masterpiece “General View of Mt. Geumgang” to a more amplified effect. In addition, it is quite reasonable to assume that his many other paintings depicting the general view of the mountain were also conceived on the cliff or the pavilion described in this painting.

When compared with “Jeongyang Temple” (ink and light color on paper, 56 x 42.8 cm, Kansong Art Museum),31 part of Album of Paintings of Eight Scenic Spots in Mt. Geumgang (金剛八景圖帖, Geumgang palgyeong docheop) completed in the 1730s-40s, the fan painting indicates that the painter’s memory was sometimes inaccurate. Heolseong Pavilion, nicknamed “the main hall of the Diamond Mountain,” was a one-storey structure, but in this painting it is a two-storey one built on stone pillars. The hexagonal building at the center of the temple is Yaksa Hall (藥師殿), which remains intact today.

Although depicting the same temple, the regular paper version has an angle of view half as narrow as that of the fan-painting version. It seems that a 28mm wide-angle lens would be able to frame the entire scenery. The temple is a view from Cheonildae; Biro Peak and the surrounding peaks are partly visible beyond the earthy peaks around the temple. Again, this painting is a combination of two different viewpoints: the temple from the cliff and the top of the mountain from the temple.

These two paintings of Jeongyang Temple also incorporate multiple points of view in one frame with yet another viewpoint that integrates all the rest. The mountain peaks are seen from the pavilion at the temple; the pavilion is seen from the cliff at the center with the painter’s group on it; and the group of people is seen from the smaller cliff on the right. Finally, an imaginary third party looks down on all these, including the painter himself. In sum, this is the same style used in the above-mentioned paintings of Jangan Temple and of the Diamond Mountain viewed from Danbal Ridge.

This composition represents the simultaneous presence of the spiritual (the third party overlooking the view from above), the human (the painter) and the material (the scenery). I want to link this composition to the thought of Practical Learning or Silhak, an influential school of thought during the time of Jeong Seon, which claimed that there was no distinction between human and material properties.32 I consider this composition to be related with the tradition of East Asian landscape painting, which described scenery not in isolation but with a human presence in the foreground—usually the painter himself with his house or pavilion surrounded by trees or woods. This is in parallel with the attitude of Asian philosophy to see the self and the other, and humans and the environment, not as a confronting pair but as one in harmonious unity.

3) Contracted and Simplified Landscape in a Wide-Angle View

As confirmed by his characteristic use of viewpoint, Jeong Seon had an especially wide field of view. In addition, he was also skilled at contracting a wide view onto the narrow canvas. A good example is “After Rain at Mt. Inwang” (仁王霽色圖, Inwangjesaekdo) painted in 1751. One of his greatest masterpieces, this painting is so full of power and vitality that it is hard to believe it is the work of a 75-year-old artist. The massive rocks, rendered dark by repeated ink retouches, stand magnificently above the mist after summer rain (Figure 6).

( Figure 6 ) “After Rain at Mt. Inwang” (仁王霽色圖), Jeong Seon, 1751, ink on paper, 79.2 (h)x 138.2 (w) cm, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art

The towering rocks are shrouded in mist at their feet, and the house in the foreground is surrounded by pine trees. This house must be the point from which the painter viewed the mountain. It seems to be located somewhere near Songseok Hill (松石園), halfway between Ongnyu Stream (玉流川) on the left and Cheongpung Valley (淸風溪) on the right. The house and its surroundings look similar to those described in “Samseung Pavilion” (三勝亭, Samseungjeong, 1741, ink and light color on silk, 40 x 66.7 cm, private collection) or “View from Samseung Pavilion” (三勝眺望, Samseung jomang, ink and light color on silk, 39.7 x 66.7 cm, private collection). These paintings were commissioned by Yi Chunje (李春躋, 1692-1761), who wanted Jeong to paint his house. The similarity leads to a presumption that the house might have belonged to Yi, but again, it could have been the artist’s own because it also resembles his house depicted in “The House in the Valley of Mt. Inwang” (仁谷幽居, Ingok yugeo, ink and light color on paper, 27.5 x 27.3 cm, Kansong Art Museum) included in Album of Paintings of Scenic Spots in Seoul and Its Suburbs (京郊名勝帖, Gyeonggyo myeongseungcheop) painted in 1740-41. Regardless of the ownership of the house, the scenery of Mt. Inwang must have been very familiar to Jeong Seon because he lived in its vicinity in the Ogin-dong neighborhood.33 Perhaps, the familiarity explains why among all Jeong’s true-view landscape paintings this one of Mt. Inwang bears the closest resemblance to the actual scenery.

Nevertheless, the actual view captured in the painting is much wider than what the human eye can take in from any spot as close to the mountain as the house depicted. To frame such a wide view on the canvas, the horizontal range of the mountain has been considerably contracted, especially to the left of the bald peak. In reality, to capture the entire range as in the painting, the horizontal angle of view needs to be almost 150° from the house (Figure 7). From that point, the mountain cannot be framed with a 20mm wide-angle lens, while it can be from a spot 200-300m farther away using a 35mm lens. In the latter case, however, the peaks in the middle become too small, and almost half of the scenery gets hidden by the hills of Cheongpung Valley. But in the painting this part is not hidden because of the bird’s-eye view. If the point of view is moved to the left toward Ongnyu Stream, the mountain ridge can be fully captured with a panorama camera, framing at last the full scope of the painting without contracting the middle. To capture a similar scene to the painting, that is, the main peaks looming large in the middle and the right part of the mountain not hidden by Cheongpung Valley, the viewer has to be standing at least 500-600m farther away, maybe halfway up Mt. Baegak on the opposite side of Mt. Inwang, and use a 50mm standard lens or a 85mm telephoto lens (Figure 8).

As a depiction of Seoul within the city walls as seen from the foot of Mt. Inwang, “View from Samseung Pavilion” (1741) shares the same theme with two paintings of the same period: “Seoul Wrapped in Mist under the Moon” (長安烟月, Jangannyeonwol) and “Seoul Wrapped in Mist after Rain” (長安烟雨, Jangannyeonu, ink on paper, 30.1 x 39.9 cm, Kansong Art Museum)—both included in Album of Paintings of Scenic Spots in Seoul and Its Suburbs. In these paintings as well, a wide range of field has been skillfully contracted with Mt. Namsan flanked by distant views of Namhansan Fortress and Mt. Gwanak. This is a range wider than the 150° horizontal angle from Mt. Inwang, a range which it would only be possible to capture with a panoramic lens.

The same is true for “Lake Mi” (渼湖, Miho) and “Gwang Ferry” (廣津, Gwangjin, color on silk, 20.2 x 31.5 cm, Kansong Art Museum). The views along the Han River depicted in these paintings could only be captured from the opposite side of the river. Assuming that the artist was standing on the bank or a boat on the water, the horizontal angle of view is around 100-120° in both paintings. In some other cases, such a wide angle of view is even combined with a bird’s-eye view. For example, in “Yanghwa Ferry” (楊花津, Yanghwajin, ink and light color on silk, 33.3 x 24.7 cm, private collection), part of the 1740s Album of Paintings of Eight Scenic Spots on Yangcheon (陽川八景帖, Yangcheon palgyeong cheop) two distinctly contradicting viewpoints have been combined. In reality, the silhouette of Namsan can only look so high when viewed from a farther spot lower down, while the buildings behind Jamdu Peak (蠶頭峰) are only visible in such a way when viewed from extremely high up in the sky.

Jeong Seon also painted a panoramic view of the riverside, as in “Sailing Out at Uhwa” (羽化登船, Uhwadeungseon, ink and light color on silk, 33.5 x 94.2 cm) and “Anchoring at Ungyeon” (熊淵繫纜, Ung yeon gyeram, ink and light color on silk, 33.1 x 93.8 cm, private collection), included in Album of Paintings of the Riverside in Imsul Year (壬戌連江帖, Imsul yeon-gang cheop) from 1742. With both banks of the river at the top and bottom of the canvas, this scene must have been framed from a nearby hilltop to include a wide field of view. The album was produced in commemoration of the boating trip taken by Hong Gyeongbo (洪景輔, 1692-1744), governor of Gyeonggi-do, and Sin Yuhan (申維翰, 1681-1752), governor of Yeoncheon. They took the boat ride from Wuhwajeong, the pavilion in Sangnyeong (朔寧) to Wungyeon (熊淵) in Yeoncheon, emulating Su Dongpo’s (蘇東坡, 1036-1101, a famous poet of the Chinese Song Dynasty) boat trip to The Red Cliff (赤壁賦, Chibifu), a battle site. Jeong Seon, then magistrate of Yangcheon, was also invited and painted the journey. Hence the grand-scale landscape paintings also possess a documentary quality.

Sometimes, Jeong Seon tried even more extreme contraction of the horizontal range of field to fit a vertically long scroll, as in the 1739 work “Cheongpung Valley” (清風溪, ink and light color on paper, 153.6 x 59 cm, Kansong Art Museum)34 and “Bagyeon Falls,” the 1750s painting discussed above. In both paintings the subject is depicted from a high-distant perspective with repeated ink retouches. “Cheongpung Valley” is notable for its bold contraction of the background scenery, giving a closer view of the valley entrance and also a distant, partial view of Mt. Inwang.

“Bagyeon Falls” is a view of a waterfall from below, probably from the pine woods at the bottom left of the canvas. The vertical field of view is almost 90°, an angle that could be framed by a 25mm wide-angle lens, with the camera body rotated. The distance between the rock cliffs on either side has been shortened, so that the falls look twice as long as they do in real life. By doing so, the painter succeeded in capturing not only the grand view of the falls but also its roaring sound.

A vertically wide angle of view was also used when depicting a narrow valley with a wide background view, as in “Manpok Valley” (萬瀑洞, 1740s, ink and light color on silk, 33 x 22 cm, Seoul National University Museum). In reality, the composition of the painting cannot be obtained from any spot in the valley. The photograph of Geumgang Cliff (金剛臺) and Bodeok Cave (普德窟) that I took using a 28mm lens and standing at the flat rock in the valley captured only one fifth of the scene in the painting. In fact, the painting seamlessly combines a view of the valley from Cheonghak Cliff on the left, and a view of the distant Biro Peak from the valley. The vertical angle of view amounts to 120° if converted to the horizontal. The painter and his party standing on the flat rock look as if they were viewed from the pine wood below the cliff.

“Geumgang Cliff” (金剛臺, Geumgangdae, 1750s, ink and light color on paper, 28.8 x 22 cm, Kansong Art Museum), painted a decade after “Manpok Valley,” captures only part of the same scenery. This time, the angle of view is much narrower and the description is very simple. The horizontal angle of view that includes the two cliffs and the two peaks is about 30°, which can be easily captured with an 85mm or 135mm telephoto lens from a distance. It seems that, after so many years, minor details of the landscape faded from the painter’s memory leaving only the central figures. This simplification, however, greatly enhances the artistry of the work (Figure 9).

( Figure 9 ) Comparison of Jeong Seon’s “Manpok Valley” and “Geumgangdae”

“Geumgang Cliff” resembles a modern watercolor, with the two rock cliffs (Cheonghak Cliff on the left and Geumgang Cliff in the middle) rising above the pine woods floating in the foggy mist, and the faintly bluish silhouette of the two peaks at a distance (Daehyangno Peak and Sohyangno Peak). The refreshing view after a misty rain almost gives the impression of sacredness. The transcendental view of two lonesome cliffs shows a new style that Jeong Seon developed in his very late years, an example of which is yet another depiction of “Jeongyang Temple” (正陽寺, Jeongyangsa, ink and light color on silk, 21.9 x 28.8 cm, Kansong Art Museum), depicting a temple nestled snugly in an earthy mountain exquisitely rendered with dot-texture strokes.

02 JEONG SEON’S FOLLOWERS: CHOE BUK, JEONG HWANG, KIM EUNGHWAN

True-view landscape painting reached its full potential in the work of Jeong Seon, and was further enriched by his followers. Among them, Choe Buk, Jeong Hwang, Kim Eunghwan and Sin Hakgwon were more committed to imitating the great master’s works than expressing the landscape as close to reality as possible. In doing so, however, they developed their own originality, albeit to a limited extent.

The fan painting of “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (扇面金剛全圖, Seonmyeon geumgangjeondo, 1760s-70s) by Choe Buk and “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (金剛全圖, Geumgangjeondo, 1779, Joseon Art Museum in Pyeongyang, North Korea) are straightforward imitations of Jeong’s masterpieces. However, “Pyohun Temple” (表訓寺, Pyohunsa, 1760s-70s, ink and light color on paper, 38.5 × 57.3 cm, private collection) reveals a slight change in style. Choe painted a partial, not a general, view of the Diamond Mountain from a much lower viewpoint. This angle of view results from painting on site, a practice in line with his emulation of Shim Sajeong’s style in the description of mountains and trees. Nevertheless, all three of Choe’s paintings of the Diamond Mountain fail to show the passionate personality of the artist, who, as legend has it, was so mesmerized by the splendor of the mountain that he wanted to throw himself off the top of Guryong Falls.

While Choe Buk was not able to go beyond Jeong Seon’s style in painting a general view of the Diamond Mountain, he attempted changes by learning from Shim Sajeong and pursued a style of his own. Kim Hongdo and Yi Inmun (李寅文, 1745-1821; sobriquet, Gosongnyusugwan doin) also struck out to develop their own styles. Others who followed Jeong’s style of choosing impression over accuracy sometimes showed interest in accurate description of the actual landscape. They are Kim Yun-gyeom, Jeong Chungyeop, Kim Yuseong (金有聲, 1725-?; sobriquet, Seoam), and Kim Eunghwan (金應煥).

Kim Eunghwan’s 1722 painting “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (ink on paper, 22.3 x 35.2cm, collection of Park Juhwan of Seoul), which he gave to his friend Kim Hongdo, is a complete copy of Jeong Seon's painting of the same name. However, when he and Kim Hongdo went to paint the same mountain in 1788 under King Jeongjo’s command, his approach was a little different. As a result, “Heolseong Pavilion,” “Chilbo Cliff (七寶臺, Chilbodae),” “Ongnyu Valley (玉流洞, Ongnyudong),” “Manmul Crags (萬物相, Manmulsang)” and “Haesan Pavilion (海山亭, Haesanjeong)”—the paintings said to have been produced during the time—bear a closer resemblance to the actual places.

In the works of Choe Buk and Kim Eunghwan, the overall resemblance to reality is higher than 50 percent. However, Jeong Hwang, grandson of Jeong Seon, and Shin Hwakgwon, a literati painter, did not digress from Jeong Seon’s style, showing a level of accuracy around 30 percent. For this reason, their paintings are devoid of fresh perspective, new angle of view or creative originality.

03 YI INSANG , HEO PIL, YUN JEHONG

I once organized an exhibition of paintings from the late Joseon period, contrasting the “energetic force” (氣韻) in Jeong Seon’s powerful expression as “vigor” (勢, se) and the “literary energy” (文氣) reflected in Yi Insang’s sensitive yet restrained lines and light coloring as “spirit” (氣, gi).35

The display of Jeong’s “Bagyeon Falls” and Yi’s “View of Mt. Jangbaek” (長白山圖, Jangbaeksando, ink on paper, 26.2 x 122.0 cm, private collection) enabled a stark contrast between “force” and “spirit.” In this light, Jeong boldly modified the real scenery in his paintings, focusing on the plastic forces of the landscape, while Yi Insang and other literati painters who espoused Yi’s ideas followed the tradition of the Chinese Southern School or, at least, displayed the same kind of sensibilities. Jeong by altering the scenery, produced intellectual paintings with views that were reinterpreted in his mind based on his memories. By contrast, Yi’s landscapes are the representation of his emotional vision, rendered with his heart.

Though he was not a professional painter but a nobleman who eventually rose to the position of dongjijungchubusa (Junior Rank 2), Jeong had the dense but mature brushstroke of a highly trained artist, as can be seen in his vertical brushstrokes created with two brushes, horizontal Mi dots (米點), hemp-fiber strokes, moss dots, layered ink wash, and the dynamic rhythm flowing through T-shaped pine trees. Yi and other literati painters who followed the style of the Southern School used ink wash and light color, hemp fiber strokes, and the fabulous dry brushwork created by loosening the brush hairs, making a strong contrast to Jeong Seon's paintings. The brushwork of these literati painters, however, developed from their talent in calligraphy, is unrefined and rather clumsy, but this helps emphasize the outlines of the objects in an original way.

A number of literati painters sympathized with Jeong’s style and turned to true-view landscape painting. Yi Insang was a leading figure among those who, instead of simulating the real view on the spot, reinterpreted the scenery.36 Heo Pil, Yi Yunyeong (李胤永, 1714-1759, sobriquet, Danneung), and Yun Jehong followed Yi Insang’s style. In their true-view landscape paintings that carry place names, the resemblance to the actual scenery is 20-40 percent, that is, less than 50 percent. Yi Insang and his followers reinterpreted the landscape from memory in the Southern School style, envisioning an ideal landscape of leisure and seclusion to which they could escape from the mundane world.

Yi Insang’s “Guryong Falls” (九龍瀑, Guryongpok, ink and wash on paper, 118.2 x 58.5 cm, National Museum of Korea), painted with simple ink lines and light color, does not portray the characteristics of a waterfall. As explained at the lower left of the canvas, the painting was executed based on memory 15 years after he had traveled to the Diamond Mountain in 1737 at the age of 28. Further, Yi explained: “I only painted the bones of the object with a stubby brush and ink wash, leaving out the flesh and ignoring color shades, not out of carelessness but because I painted from the heart.”37 Indeed, the work, which exudes the sensitivity of a scholar, is a fine example of a painting from memory preserved in the artist’s mind. Yi placed emphasis on the texture of the rocks rather than capturing the sound of the waterfall. Though it seems meaningless to discuss the angle of view or viewpoint of this painting, the waterfall is viewed from below on a nearby hill in a vertical composition.

“Eunseon Cliff” (隱仙臺, Eunseondae, light color on paper, 34 x 55 cm, Kansong Art Museum), painted between 1740 and 1750, is clearly viewed from below, making a sharp contrast with Jeong Seon's “Buljeong Cliff” (佛頂臺, Buljeongdae, ink on paper, 26.5 x 21.8cm, private collection), which combines a low angle of view, the view of Eunseon Cliff seen from Buljeong Cliff, and a bird’s eye view (Figure 10). On the other hand, Yi’s “Eunseon Cliff” showing shrubs and rocks that bear little resemblance to the actual forms in the distant view, in harmony with the waterfall, is reminiscent of the landscape paintings of the Southern School. Although the painting lacks the characteristics of a true-view landscape, the use of clear ink wash and light color gives freshness to the painting, as in the case of “Ongnyu Valley,” which is the same width. “View of Mt. Jangbaek” (長白山圖, ink on paper, 26.2 x 122.0cm, private collection) is a masterpiece of the heart with intense outlines that contrast with empty space. The scene in the painting resembles the crater lake on top of Mt. Baekdu (白頭山), but Mt. Jangbaek probably refers to a mountain in Hamgyeong-do.

( Figure 10 ) Comparison of the viewpoints and angles of view in landscapes by Yi Insang and Jeong Seon

Yi Yunyeong, who developed his own style based on the ink wash and dry brushwork of his close friend Yi Insang , also transformed the real landscape in the manner of the Southern School, as seen in the fan painting of “Oksun Peak” (扇面玉筍峯, light color on paper, 57.5 x 27.3cm, Korea University Museum) dated to the 1750s. A rock pillar, removed from the peak and positioned in the middle of the river, does not bear any similarity to the actual scenery and is thus an eyesore.

Yun Jehong, another literati painter who reinterpreted Yi Insang’s ink wash painting in his own style, left behind a considerable number of true-view landscapes. “Oksun Peak” (玉筍峯, Oksunbong, 1833, ink on paper, 67 x 45.5 cm, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art), part of a eight-panel folding screen titled “Eight Landscape Finger Paintings” (指頭山水圖 八幅屛, Jidusansudo palpokbyeong) is considered to be his major work—a painting done with the fingernails with an original expression of shading. Comparison of the scene in the painting and real life reveals there is no waterfall on the actual site, unlike in the painting where a high waterfall is positioned on the left in the distant background. Compared to the actual scenery, the position of the two rocks, large and small, has been reversed. The composition is undeniably Southern School style with a pavilion set against a large rock, a bridge leading to the pavilion, and figures in the pavilion and on the bridge.

The reason for such transformation of the real scenery is explained by the painter as follows: “Whenever I went to Oksun Peak, I felt the lack of a pavilion at the bottom of the cliff. I recently obtained and copied an album of Yi Insang’s paintings. Surely this imitation will make up for its absence.”38 Maintaining only the image of the rock in his memory, the rest of the landscape was recreated in the painting according to Yun’s ideal of a retreat in nature, an example of transformation of the actual landscape to suit the taste of the literati painter.

With Heo Pil, the actual scenery underwent major transformation, as demonstrated in “View of Myogilsang” (妙吉祥圖, Myogilsangdo, 1759, ink and wash on paper, 27.6cm, National Museum of Korea). Heo transformed the rock-carved seated Buddha into a standing monk while turning the Goryeo stone lantern into a five-storey stone pagoda with a crane placed on top (Figure 11). By contrast, the fan painting of “General View of Mt. Geumgang” (扇面金剛全圖, Seonmyeon Geumgangjeondo, ink and wash on paper, 21.8 x 58.8 cm, Korea University Museum) gives a closer approximation of the real view than Yun’s other works, as it was produced between 1740 and 1750, after Jeong Seon’s paintings capturing the General View of Mt. Geumgang.

( Figure 11 ) Heo Pil’s unrealistic true-view landscape and comparison with the real scenery

IV ARTISTS WHO PAINTED FROM ACTUAL SCENERY

As an increasing number of painters sketched on site after close inspection, true-view landscape painting further developed in the late 18th century. Literati painters such as Shim Sajeong, Kang Sehwang, and Jeong Suyeong (鄭遂榮, 1743-1831; sobriquet, Jiujae) belong to the school of true-view landscape painting. Compared to their mentor, Jeong Seon’s disciples such as Kim Yun-gyeom, Jeong Chungyeop, Kang Huieon (姜熙彦, 1738-1784; sobriquet, Damjol), Jang Siheung (張始興, ca. 18th c.; sobriquet, Banghoja), Kim Yuseong, and Yi Inmun took an interest in sketching from actual sites. In particular, Kim Hongdo was a master who escalated the pictorial quality of landscape painting from actual sites to near perfection. Painters such as Eom Chiuk (嚴致郁, ca. 18-19th c.; sobriquet, Gwanho), Yi Jaegwan (李在寬, 1783-1837; sobriquet, Sodang), Yi Yusin (李維新, ca. 18-19th c.; sobriquet, Seokdang), Jo Jeonggyu (趙廷奎, 1791-?; sobriquet, Imjeon), and Kim Hajong (金夏鍾, 1793-?; sobriquet, Yudang) espoused painting from nature after Kim Hongdo.

01 SHIM SAJEONG, KANG SEHWANG, JEONG SUYEONG

Shim Sajeong, Kang Sehwang, and Jeong Suyeong are literati artists who painted faithfully from actual scenery in contrast with Yi Insang and his followers. Shim moved beyond true-view landscapes that bear traces of Jeong Seon’s influence to faithful reproduction of actual scenic spots with a lower viewpoint that have an accuracy level of around 80 percent. His brushwork techniques are of the standard of a professional painter. On the other hand, the resemblance to nature in the paintings of Kang Sehwang and Jeong Suyeong is only between 40 and 70 percent, depending on their drawing techniques.

Shim, a literati painter of the late Joseon period, completely Koreanized the landscape painting of the Chinese Southern School, which had a huge influence on latter-day artists.39 It is well-known that the landscape painting style of Kim Hongdo and Yi Inmun was derived from Shim’s brush and ink techniques. Shim successfully Koreanized the literati paintings of the Southern Chinese School, probably because he took up true-view landscape painting under the guidance of Jeong Seon.

Jeong’s influence is clearly evident in Shim’s “Manpok Valley” (萬瀑洞, Manpokdong, light color on paper, 32 x 22 cm, Kansong Art Museum) that had been in the possession of Kim Gwangguk (金光國, 1727-1797; sobriquet, Seongnong), a late Joseon medical officer reputed for his art collection. The painting features the layered-wash (積墨, lit. accumulated-ink) technique with modified axe-cut texture strokes and a composition similar to that of Jeong Seon's “Bodeok Cave” (普德窟, Bodeokgul, 1711, light color on paper, 36.1 x 26.1 cm, National Museum of Korea).

“Myeonggyeong Cliff” (明鏡臺, Myeonggyeongdae, light color on paper, 27.7 x 18.8 cm, Kansong Art Museum), though painted in the same period as “Manpok Valley,” is relatively faithful to the actual scenery. The painting depicts Myeonggyeong Cliff seen from below and nearby Okgyeong Pond (玉鏡潭), the Hwangcheon River (黃泉江), and remnants of a fortress related to the legend of the Crown Prince Maui (麻衣太子) of the Silla Kingdom. Across the valley, the peaks of Jijang Peak (地藏峰) and Siwang Peak (十王峰) can be seen, if indistinctively. The scene depicted in the painting is close to the actual scenery when viewed standing on the flat rock under Okgyeong Lake, and can be captured with a 35mm wide-angle camera lens. The dry brushwork and moss dots are used in the manner of the Southern Chinese School.

Shim Sajeong’s “Myeonggyeong Cliff” is in sharp contrast with Jeong Seon’s “Baekcheon Valley” (百川洞, Baekcheondong, ca. 1730-1740, light color on paper, 56 x 42.8cm, Kansong Art Museum) in terms of viewpoint although the two paintings share the same subject matter. “Baekcheon Valley,” part of an eight-panel folding screen of the “Eight Scenic Spots in Mt. Geumgang” (金剛八景圖帖, Geumgang palgyeong docheop), captures a bird’s eye view of the scenery with Myeonggyeong Cliff as the central focus, whereas Shim’s “Myeonggyeong Cliff” is a worm’s eye view seen from below, painted on-site.

Seoknong hwawon (石農畵苑), from the collection of Kim Gwangguk, includes Shim’s “Pine Tree and Pavilion at Gyesan” (溪山松亭, Gyesansongjeong, light color on paper, 29.7 x 22.7 cm, Kansong Art Museum) (Figure 12), which is similar in composition to “Myeonggyeong Cliff” by the same painter. A pine tree and pavilion rendered with simple brushwork are positioned above a hill in the foreground, underneath a rock reminiscent of Myeonggyeong Cliff. The prominence of the cliff is lowered by placing a towering mountain in the left corner, the actual scenery modified to create a landscape with pine tree and pavilion, which are typical elements of Southern School landscapes. The light color applied over the pimajun (hemp-fibre strokes) and moss dots (苔點, taejeom) are also characteristic of the Southern School. “Myeonggyeong Cliff” is an example of realistic depiction of the actual scenery, using the techniques of the Southern School, while “Pine Tree and Pavilion at Gyesan” is an example of transformation of the scenery into a landscape idealized by the same school. In the process of producing such works, Shim Koreanized the Southern School style, and his style and techniques were passed on whole to Kim Hongdo and Yi Inmun.

( Figure 12 ) Shim Sajeong’s “Myeonggyeong Cliff” and comparison to actual scenery

As Kang Sehwang and Jeong Suyeong were not up to Shim’s standard in their skills for life-like depiction, the level of accuracy of Kang’s true-view landscapes is 60-70 percent while that of Jeong’s is only 40-60 percent.

A literati painter and art critic of the Joseon period, Kang Sehwang exerted huge influence on the art circle of his time.40 He left behind albums of landscape paintings as a result of traveling around scenic spots in Songdo (currently Kaesong), the Diamond Mountain, and Buan. In particular, Travel Painting Album of Songdo (松都紀行帖, Songdo gihaengcheop, ca. 1757) is representative of Kang’s true-view landscape style.41 In particular, “Bagyeon Falls” (朴淵, Bagyeon, 32.8 x 53.4 cm, National Museum of Korea) illustrates a scene quite close to that captured by a 35mm wide-angle lens. The placement of Bagyeon at the head of the waterfall, Gomo Pond (姑母潭) at the bottom, and Beomsa Pavilion (泛槎亭) at the left of the pond is faithful to the actual scenery. The waterfall shown at the left of the canvas, which grows narrower towards the top, is rendered in perspective. Even the folds in the nearby rock face are realistically depicted. With its rich combination of ink wash and light color, this painting gives a stronger impression of the actual landscape than Jeong’s “Bagyeon Falls.” But Kang’s painting lacks the energy of Jeong’s, which seems to capture the roaring sound of the waterfall (Figure 13).

( Figure 13 ) Comparison of paintings of Bagyeon Falls by Jeong Seon and Kang Sehwang

“General View of Songdo” (松都全景, Songdojeon-gyeong) and “Daeheung Temple” (大興寺) from the same album use western perspective techniques, but in a very clumsy manner (Figure 14). In particular, “Daeheung Temple,” which seemingly adopted a one-point perspective, is severely distorted in composition. The building at the left is painted from below while the monks’ dormitory at the right is shown in a bird’s eye view. The distorted perspective can perhaps be understood in light of what Yi Ik (李瀷, 1681-1763; sobriquet, Seongho) wrote in Hwansangyodol (畵像坳突), his adaptation of the preface to the Chinese translation of Euclid’s Elements by Matteo Ricci: “I understand how to produce three-dimensional effects, but not how to apply linear perspective.”42

Jeong Suyeong, grandson of Jeong Sanggi (鄭尚驥, 1678-1752), a Silhak philosopher and geographer of the late Joseon period, was a literati painter.43 He also participated in map making activities in the tradition of his family, and this provided him with opportunities of painting scenes from real life. Hence his landscapes have an added element of interest. His major true-view landscapes come from albums of paintings and essays on scenic spots produced on his travels such as Hangang imgang myeongseungdogwon (漢江 臨江 名勝圖卷, ca. 1796-97) and Haesancheop (海山帖, 1799). Jeong Suyeong’s true-view landscapes were painted on the spot using free brushstrokes in sometimes unrestrained compositions. Their resemblance to the actual scenery is only 40-60 percent but exhibit an original, inimitable style.

“General View of Mt. Geumgang” (金剛全景, Geumgangjeon-gyeong, 33.8 x 61.6 cm, National Museum of Korea) from Haesancheop depicts the mountain as an inverted triangle under the horizon. This painting has a horizontal angle of view of 130° or more, which is comparable to that of Jeong Seon’s paintings. The composition in Jeong Suyeong’s painting, however, is unique, not the usual circle or fan-shape composition.

“Manpok Valley,” also from Haesancheop, illustrates the actual landscape surrounding the Diamond Mountain viewed from the painter’s position, the composition being the same as the scene I captured with a 28mm wide-angle lens. The sense of reality, however, is diminished as the forms are rather casually depicted. Likewise, the waterfall in “Guryong Falls” (九龍瀑, Guryongpok, ca. 1800, light color on paper, 28 x 34.8 cm, Seoul Museum of History) is not realistic, although the painting achieves pictorial qualities due to its simplified brush and ink rendering.

02 JEONG SEON’S FOLLOWERS: JEONG CHUNGYEOP, KIM YUN-GYEOM, KANG HUIEON

Among those belonging to the Jeong Seon School, Jeong Chungyeop, Kim Yun-gyeom, and Kang Huieon, Jang Siheung, Kim Yuseong, and Yi Inmun clearly exhibit the features of on-site landscape painting in their work, achieving a level of resemblance to actual scenery of about 70 percent. Kim Yun-gyeom aside, they were all from the jungin class (skilled professionals of the Joseon period) or court painters, and compared to Choe Buk, Jeong Hwang, and Shin Hakgwon (申學權, 1785-1866; sobriquet, Doam) discussed earlier, their work shows some degree of individuality.

Jeong Chungyeop, who was a medical officer, painted true-view landscapes in the Jeong Seon style but few of his paintings survive to this day. In 1998, I was delighted to spot his name engraved on a rock as soon as I entered Manpok Valley.44 “View of Twelve Thousand Peaks from Heolseong Pavilion” (歇惺樓望萬二千峰圖, Heolseongnumang manicheonbongdo, ca. 1750s, light color on paper, 23.5 x 30.3 cm, private collection) shows a dazzling spring scene of inner Diamond Mountain covered with pink azaleas. At the lower left of the canvas is Heolseong Pavilion and to its right Cheonil Cliff. Behind them from a high-distance perspective are Geumgang Cliff, the twin peaks of Hyangno Peak, Junghyang Crags and Biro Peak, and at the right, the ridge of Hyeolmang Peak (穴望峰) stretches out in the same direction.

At the first glance, the bird’s eye view is similar to that used in Jeong Seon’s “View of Inner Mt. Geumgang,” but the angle of view from Heolseong Pavilion to Biro Peak and Hyeolmang Peak is a mere 60°-70°. A photograph of Heolseong Pavilion from the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), showing exactly the same composition as the painting, enables accurate comparison between the two works (Figure 15). Comparing it with the horizontal angle used in the painting by Jeong Chungyeop, the photograph seems to have been taken with a 35mm wide-angle lens. This means the view in the painting is close to the one captured by a modern-day camera, thanks to on-site sketching.

Kim Yun-gyeom had yet to go beyond the influence of Jeong Seon when he was painting the Diamond Mountain and the resemblance of his works to the actual scenery barely reaches 50 percent. This changed in later works, especially those depicting the Yeongnam region, which reach an accuracy level of about 80 percent. His “Wonhwadong River” (元化洞天, Wonhwadongcheon) and “Myeonggyeong Cliff” from Album with Views of Bongnae (蓬萊圖卷, Bongnaedogwon, 1768) display light brushstrokes and coloring, giving the impression of being simplified versions of Jeong Seon's paintings of the same scenes.45 Kim had an excellent command of ink wash and light colors. Like Jeong, he did not attempt to record the scene as accurately as possible, but, instead of using a bird’s-eye view, lowered the viewpoint in the manner of Shim Sajeong and Yi Insang to achieve greater individuality in his work.

In contrast with the paintings of the Diamond Mountain, Travel Album of the Yeongnam Region (嶺南紀行畵帖, Yeongnamgihaeng hwacheop, ca. 1772), executed four or five years later during a trip through the Yeongnam region when serving as an official post in Jinju, shows the true quality of landscapes painted from real scenery. The scene depicted in “Taejong Cliff” (太宗臺, Taejongdae, light color on paper, 54.0 x 35.5 cm, Dong-A University Museum) can be captured with a 28mm wide-angle lens from the spot where Kim might have painted the view (Figure 16). The angle of view nears that of western landscape paintings, while the colors and ink lines are lighter and thinner than in his Diamond Mountain paintings.

“Mt. Inwang” (仁王山, Inwangsan, light color on paper, 24.6 x 42.6 cm, private collection) by Kang Huieon is noteworthy as it coincides with changes in Kim Yun-gyeom’s style. Kang, a painter from the jungin class, studied under Jeong Seon, but created an original style through his association with other artists such as Kang Sehwang and Kim Hongdo.46 “Mt. Inwang” captures the view from halfway up the mountain, looking down from a spot closer to the mountain ridge in the direction of Changeui Gate (彰義門) than Jeong Seon’s painting of the same mountain (Figure 17). When Sukjeong Gate (肅靖門) and Mt. Baegak trails were opened to the public, I set out to find the viewpoint used by Kang Huieon only to find that the area was still closed at the time.

From about 50 meters above Dohwadong River (桃花洞天), from where the painting was sketched, a similar scene of Mt. Inwang can be captured with a 35mm wide-angle lens. As I photographed the scene along the line of the castle walls, Kang’s unique point of view was captured through the viewfinder. From a distance of 500 to 600 meters across the foot of the mountain, a scene of appropriate expanse for human sight comes into view, which I believe is the reason for the painting’s modern elegance. The layers of the mountain ridges, which can be seen from above with a side glance, are impressively rendered with rhythmical Mi-style horizontal dots. The white mist below and blue sky above has the freshness of a watercolor painting.

“Chongseok Pavilion (叢石亭, Chongseokjeong, light color on paper, 26 x 21.5 cm, private collection),” another of Kang’s works, from 1770-1780 fully employs western perspective. The bird’s eye view of the road facing the northern palace is narrowed down to one point. The size of the willow trees and human figures diminishes as the distance increases, and with variation of light and shade the mists are also given a sense of perspective. Though executed with better skill than “Daeheung Temple” (1757) by Kang Sehwang, the technique still falls far short of actual linear perspective.

Kang Huieon’s true-view landscapes from the 1770s to the 1780s, which use perspective, coincide with Kim Yungyeom’s shift in the 1770s from paintings that bear little similarity to reality to faithful depictions of real scenery. They are significant not only as evidence of Kang’s departure from the Jeong Seon style to forge his own original style, but also as a sign that he had clearly embraced western techniques by that time.47 The 1770s to 1780s period saw the throne of King Yeongjo transferred to King Jeongjo in 1776, an event, which may be considered a turning point in the artistic circles of the time.

In the 1780s when there was a noticeable trend for realistic landscapes, the philosopher Jeong Yakyong (丁若鏞, 1762-1836; sobriquet, Dasan) attempted to view the landscape through the camera obscura. Based on this experience, he wrote “Chilsilgwanhwaseol” (漆室觀畵說), an essay on dark-room viewing of paintings.48 Seeing the image projected upside-down in the camera obscura must have made Jeong and painters of the time realize that it was possible to create an exact image of an object.49 Yi Gyusang (李奎象, 1727-1799; sobriquet, Ilmong) made the following remarks: “Court painters in recent years have begun to adopt vanishing-point perspective (四面尺量法) from western painting, with Kim Hongdo applying the technique with the most success.”50 Thus, it can be inferred that Kim’s realistic true-view paintings are not unrelated to the influence of western techniques.

Yi Inmun’s “View of Mt. Geumgang from Danbal Ridge” (斷髪嶺望金剛, Danballyeongmang Geumgang, ca. 1800s, light color on canvas, 23 x 45 cm, private collection) has the same composition as Jeong Seon’s painting of the same scene, but the technique is borrowed from Shim Sajeong. The panoramic view of the Diamond Mountain floating above the clouds, seen in the distance from Danbal Ridge Pass, is the highlight of the painting. Rather than closely depicting the individuality of each peak, the painting focuses on capturing the far away atmosphere in clear light colors, evoking a fresh sensation.

The essence of Yi’s true-view landscape painting is more clearly evident in “Chongseok Pavilion” (叢石亭, Chongseokjeong, 21.2 x 33.9 cm, Kansong Art Museum). The artistry of this painting is as excellent as those of the same subject by his friend Kim Hongdo and even by Jeong Seon. The painting vividly portrays the waves rolling in from the far horizon to Chongseok Pavilion. Yi, born in the same year as Kim Hongdo and overshadowed by his friend, has not been given due recognition. However, given the aesthetic value of his true-view landscapes, there is no reason Yi should not be evaluated as highly as Kim.

03 KIM HONGDO AND HIS FOLLOWERS

Kim Hongdo is the representative painter in Korean art history. Although mostly known as a genre artist who depicted the daily life of ordinary people, Kim’s real artistry is revealed in his true-view landscape paintings, developed under the influence of Jeong Seon. Kim was a pupil of Kang Sehwang in his youth and is known to have been a close friend of Kang Huieon.51 It is assumed that Kim was exposed to western painting techniques through both teacher and friend.

Kim Hongdo, who built on the artistic achievements of Jeong Seon and other literati painters such as Kang Sehwang, Shim Sajeong, and Yi Insang, is acknowledged as a towering figure in Korean art history for his outstanding talent for depiction. While Jeong Seon laid the foundation for true-view landscape painting, it was Kim who created and completed the canon of Korean landscape paintings in the 18th century. His sophisticated use of brush and ink, coupled with perfect spatial composition, enabled him to approach close to real “true-view” landscape painting.

Kim Hongdo is known to have produced Album of Mt. Geumgang in Four Districts (金剛四郡帖, Geumgangsaguncheop) in 1788 when he accompanied Kim Eunghwan on a painting tour of the Yeongdong region at the command of King Jeongjo. Several paintings are attributed to Kim from that trip, but I have yet to come across the one that appeals to me. Afterwards, Kim captured the view of the Diamond Mountain on folding screens or albums. His major true-view landscape paintings include Screen of Eight Landscapes of Mt. Geumgang (金剛八景圖屛, Geumgang palgyeong dobyeong, 1790s), “Chongseok Pavilion” (叢石亭) from Album of the Eulmyo Year (乙卯年畵帖, Eulmyonyeon docheop, 1795), and “Oksun Peak” (玉筍峯) from Album of the Byeongjin Year (丙辰年畵帖, Byeongjinnyeon docheop, 1796).

Objects in paintings such as “Manpok Valley” (萬瀑洞, Manpokdong, 1790s, light color on paper, 133.8 x 54.4 cm, private collection) and “Myeonggyeong Cliff” (明鏡臺) or “Guryong Lake” (九龍淵, Guryongyeon, ink and wash on paper, 133.8 x 54.4 cm, private collection) from Screen of Eight Landscapes of Mt. Geumgang are exaggerated because the scenes are captured in long, narrow panels. The rocks rendered with the layered-wash technique exhibit traces of the Jeong Seon style, while the brushwork in the shrubs and valleys and the viewpoint of the scenes are derived from Shim Sajeong. But while Shim Sajeong’s painting of Myeonggyeong Cliff does not exactly match the real view captured in a photograph, Kim Hongdo’s scene can be fully captured through the viewfinder of a camera with a 35mm wide-angle lens.

Kim Hongdo’s drawing skills are emphasized in wider paintings rather than tall, narrow works. “Chongseok Pavilion” (叢石亭, Chongseokjeong, light color on paper, 27.2 x 23 cm, private collection) from Album of the Eulmyo Year and “Oksun Peak” (玉筍峯, Oksunbong, light color on paper, 26.7 x 31.6 cm, Treasure No. 782, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art) from Album of the Byeongjin Year are among Kim’s greatest works. The scenes depicted in the paintings can be captured exactly with a 35mm or standard 50mm wide-angle lens. Moreover, the expression of the rocks, pine forests, and waves, using fine ink lines varying with light and shade and gentle coloring, delivers a strong sense of realism.

When I visited Oksun Peak by boat, half the rock was submerged by Daecheong Dam. Kim Hongdo must have painted the scene from the boat that is positioned at the lower right of the painting. The position of the boat is in contrast with that in Jeong Seon’s “Turtle Pool” (龜潭, “Gudam,” 1730, light color on paper, 20 x 26.5 cm, Korea University Museum), where it is placed in the center of the painting, beneath the cliff, which bears little similarity to the actual rock. This demonstrates the disparities between the two painters. Unlike Jeong, who normally used vertical and horizontal compositions, Kim preferred diagonal compositions.

As seen from the boat, or following the painter’s eyes, the view depicted in “Oksun Peak” has a horizontal field of view of about 60° and can be captured entirely with a 35mm wide-angle lens (Figure 18). Indeed, the 60° field of view is the closest to human vision. As this shows, Kim was able to capture an approximation of what landscape paintings today or photographs can record, demonstrating the modernity of his work. He achieved this feat with keen eyesight and great skill.

The 60° field of view can be found in “Guryong Lake” (九龍淵, Guryongyeon, light color on paper, 30.4 x 43.7 cm, private collection) from Screen of Eight Landscapes of Mt. Geumgang or in his later work “Guryong Falls” (九龍瀑, Guryongpok, light color on paper, 29 x 42 cm, Joseon Art Museum, Pyeongyang). The horizontal angle from the hill nearby to Guryong Falls is around 60°.

Kim’s two paintings of Guryong Falls make a good comparison with Jeong Seon’s “Guryong Falls” (九龍瀑, Guryongpok, around 1730-1740, light color on paper, 29.5 x 23.5 cm, Monastery of St. Ottilien, Germany). Jeong’s painting omits Gujeong Peak (九井峯), and has a solid vertical-horizontal composition. By contrast, Kim’s paintings of the same scene contain the peak rising over the ridge as well as the ridge itself, giving a detailed description of the real view, achieved with the help of on-site sketching. While Jeong emphasized the dropping waterfall, Kim seemed to focus on the expression of the rock strata that overpower the scene on either side of the falling water.

“Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” (疎林明月圖, Sorimmyeongwoldo, light color on paper, 26.7 x 31.6 cm, Treasure No. 782, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art) from Album of the Byeongjin Year (丙辰年畵帖, Byeongjinnyeon hwacheop) adds a new dimension to Kim Hongdo’s true-view landscape paintings. It illustrates an early spring scene of trees by the stream that have started to turn green with the full moon hanging over them. This landscape manifests the sense of reality with which Kim depicted the everyday life around him as a genre painter (Figure 19).

( Figure 19 ) “Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” (疎林明月圖), Kim Hongdo, from Album of the Byeongjin Year, 1796, light color on paper, 26.7 (h) x 31.6 (w) cm, Treasure No. 782, Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art

Jeong Seon’s works and other true-view landscape paintings discussed up to now are mostly of scenic spots or historic places because artists generally favored sublime or beautiful scenery close to the Neo-Confucian ideal sought after by the literati of the Joseon period. Unlike other landscape painters, however, Kim depicted everyday scenes often encountered in the neighborhood. Therefore, I would like to see the painting as a step forward from true-view landscape painting developed under the Neo-Confucian ideology toward modern landscape painting.

In “Oksun Peak” from the same album, the boat carrying Kim Hongdo is positioned beside the river, requiring a third viewpoint. “Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” is different not only in its everyday subject matter but also for its different viewpoint. While the artist is inside the painting in other true-view landscapes of the latter half of the Joseon period, the scene in “Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” is captured from outside the painting (Figure 19). Hence, it departs from the notion of a landscape painting conceived by the people of the time who idealized scenery in the framework of Neo-Confucian theory. In other words, Kim saw the landscape as it was, not the ideal. In this respect, it is similar to western landscape paintings that capture only the scenery viewed by the painter, and represents a shift in technique from traditional landscapes to modern western landscape painting.

Kim Hongdo’s artistic achievements had a great influence not only on true-view landscapes but all genres, from portraits to flower-and-bird paintings. This helped artists of the 19th century to keep producing paintings with pictorial quality, but no painter could either create a new trend or surpass Kim in talent and creativity. As true-view landscapes declined in popularity, the traces of the Kim Hongdo style were passed on to Eom Chiuk, Yi Yusin, Jo Jeonggyu, and Kim Hajong. In the 19th century, along with the work of these painters, folding screens depicting the Diamond Mountain and paintings of eight famous scenic spots in eastern Korea (Gwandong palgyeong) in the folk painting, or minhwa, style were popular among common people as decorative works. Although the unfettered, unprecedented beauty of a folk painting landscape displays another type of pictorial value, it does not come under the category of true-view landscapes as the form of the objects is significantly altered, and hence warrants no further discussion.

Eom Chiuk bears so much resemblance to Kim Hongdo in terms of composition, and use of ink and brush that he has often been called Kim’s alter ego. Dongyucheop (東遊帖), a book of poems by Yi Pungik (李豊翼, 1804-1887), also contains paintings that resemble Kim’s works. “Chongseok Pavilion” and “Hwanseon Pavilion” (喚仙亭, Hwanseonjeong, color on paper, 20 x 26.6 cm, Sungkyunkwan University Museum) from the book were created by anonymous painters who must have traced over original paintings by Kim.52

Compared to these painters, Kim Hajong was relatively original in style. Kim left behind albums titled Haesandocheop (海山圖帖, light color on paper, 29.7 x 43.3 cm, National Museum of Korea) dated 1815, and Pungakgweon (楓岳卷, light color on paper, 49.6 x 61 cm, private collection) dated 1865.53 When I made a field trip to the Diamond Mountain in 1998 I found the name Geungwon, sobriquet of Kim Yanggi (金良驥, ca. 1792-ca. 1842, son of Kim Hongdo) along with the name Kim Hajong carved on Angjidae (仰止臺), dated the fourth month of the year of Gyeong-oh.54 This suggests Kim Hajong visited the place in 1870. The composition and depiction of show little progress over Kim Hongdo. Nevertheless, compared to the works in Haesandocheop, those in Pungakgwon are more original with clearer and lighter lines and color.

V CONCLUSION

Jeong Seon is a true-view landscape painter who used his feet and brain to complete a work: he ardently toured the country and then painted the landscape from his memory. He adjusted the real view according to his own aesthetic. In light of this, he was evidently a man who painted with a deep heart and rich imagination. The transformation of the actual scenery was likely rooted in his great love for his native land.

Jeong’s true-view landscape paintings are characterized by the bird’s eye view that embraces the whole scene (俯瞰法, bugambeop), the viewpoints such as multipoint and a moving point of view, and reduction of a wide field of view to fit the narrow paper (縮景法, chukgyeongbeop). In Jeong’s paintings the horizontal field of view is 90°-150° degrees, or sometimes as wide as 180°. With a camera, the scenes can only be captured by a panoramic lens. Jeong edited and transformed the scenery based on the structure and characteristics that remained in his mind rather than drawing from nature to record the real view. As the memory of a landscape fades, simplification or exaggeration naturally occurs. The weaknesses of the landscape are therefore mitigated in the process of painting from memory.

As such, though Jeong consistently transformed and distorted landscapes, he explored in his own way the meaning of a “true view.” “After Rain at Mt. Inwang” is a masterpiece that visualizes the intense image of rocks wet with rain. “Bagyeon Falls” is another masterpiece that seems to capture the roaring sound of the falling water. To create such an effect, Jeong doubled the length of the waterfall and contrasted the rocks and the water. The artist used a bird’s-eye view for “General View of Mt. Geumgang” to represent the people’s yearning to see the legendary beauty of the mountain, reinterpreting the real view with excellent intuition. As a result, he created true-view paintings that appeal to all.

True-view landscape painting as perfected by Jeong Seon is a style that sympathizes with the literati’s idealization of the native land. The ideology behind the paintings is obviously Neo-Confucianism (性理學), as evidenced by records stating that Jeong painted according to the principles of the Book of Changes. It accords with the fact that Jeong Seon was a high-ranking official who associated with the literati belonging to the ruling Seoin-Noron (西人老論) faction.

Yi Insang, another literati painter, adjusted the real view in a different manner. He painted with his heart after observing the landscape with his emotional vision rather than pursuing the visible beauty of form. Rather than adept expression, his style is characterized by somewhat immature but sensitive lines and application of light color. In other words, he produced excellent paintings in the name of true-view landscapes, but using the methods of the Southern School of China. Yi and other literati painters considerably altered the actual landscape, which makes it difficult to identify the viewpoint or angle of view used. In most cases, however, they depicted the landscape from the point where the painter stood or used the worm’s-eye view rather than the bird’s-eye view.

As seen from the above, it was the literati painters who took the lead in painting from the actual scenery using a lower viewpoint, as demonstrated by the travel albums of Shim Sajeong, Kang Sehwang, and Jeong Suyeong. Shim Sajeong studied under Jeong Seon and later perfected his artistic skills by reinterpreting landscapes in the style of the Southern School. Kang Sehwang and Jeong Suyeong lag far behind in realistic portrayal of the scenery but their works are creative with a note of eccentricity.

Paintings from actual scenery with a natural angle of view were further developed by Kim Yun-gyeom and Kang Huieon, both influenced by Jeong Seon. Their works, though immature, signal the start of true-view landscape paintings that truly resemble the real view: Kang’s “Mt. Inwang,” a complete view of the mountain painted from Dohwa-dong, and “View of Bugaksan Covered in Morning Mist” (北岳朝霧圖, Bugakjomudo), which uses a bird’s eye view to give a sense of perspective, and Kim’s “Taejongdae,” an on-site record of the actual scenery. Both Kim and Kang timely embraced and applied the style and technique of western paintings that were being introduced to the country.

The achievements in true-view landscape painting made by Jeong Seon, Yi Insang, Shim Sajeong, Kang Sehwang, Kim Yun-gyeom, and Kang Huieon were passed on in their entirety to Kim Hongdo. Kim painted the landscape on the spot with masterly skill, creating paintings that closely resembled the actual scenery and greatly improving the artistry of true-view landscapes. He captured the beauty of the actual, visible scene and rendered landscapes with excellent realism and exquisite command of ink wash and light colors. While Jeong Seon had created his style of true-view landscape painting using his feet and his head, and his imagination, and literati painters such as Yi Insang painted using the heart and emotional vision, Kim Hongdo was a painter who used his eyes and his hands.

Kim Hongdo’s true-view landscapes were clearly different. He used different angles of view and viewpoints from Jeong Seon’s paintings, which altered the landscape and had been hugely influential up until the mid-18th century. The sites depicted in Kim’s paintings can be captured through the viewfinder of a camera equipped with a 50mm standard lens or a 35mm wide-angle lens. This means he painted the scenery with a horizontal field of view of 47° to 62°, which is known to be closest to the field of human vision, and hence Kim’s paintings can be argued to be “realistic” true views.

In depicting actual scenes, Kim Hongdo adopted a viewpoint similar to that of European landscape paintings and photographs developed after the 17th century, creating vivid, realistic landscapes. Furthermore, he painted not only scenic spots of great beauty but also scenes from everyday life. “Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” from Album of the Byeongjin Year suggested new directions for modern Joseon painting, and showed a shift in subject from the scenic spots idealized in true-view landscape painting under Neo-Confucian ideology to the everyday scenes of common people.

The difference in the viewpoint and angle of view in the paintings of Jeong Seon and Kim Hongdo, the two true-view masters, was linked to the changing cultural landscape in the 18th century in which Post-Neo-Confucianism emerged as a new idea. As with Silhak, Kim’s true-view landscapes were created through the conflict or correlation between Post-Neo-Confucianism and Anti-Neo-Confucianism. The paintings of Jeong, who socialized with scholars of the Nongam (農巖) and Samyeon (三淵) schools of thought, reflect the essence of Post-Neo-Confucianism, which was a revised version of the existing theory. In contrast, the ideology in Kim Hongdo’s paintings is closer to Anti-Neo-Confucianism influenced by new ideas introduced at the time by Silhak scholars such as Dasan (茶山) and Yeonam (燕巖) (Figure 20). After Kim Hongdo, both true-view landscape painting and genre painting declined in popularity in the 19th century, perhaps under the influence of Post-Neo-Confucianism, which leaned toward more conservative views as encouraged by the ruling government of the time.

( Figure 20 ) Comparison of viewpoints and angles of view used by Jeong Seon, Kim Hongdo, and Paul Cézanne

I often wonder what would have happened if progress had been made on paintings like Kim Hongdo’s “Sparse Forest under the Full Moon” in the 19th century. Inferring from the precedent in European painting, “Impressionism” is the first thing that comes to mind, especially considering the similarity in viewpoint and angle of view used. In reality, however, Impressionism, imported from Europe and Japan, did not take root in Korean art until the 20th century, a hundred years after the time of Kim Hongdo. Artists such as Oh Jiho, Do Sangbong, Kang Yeong-yun, and Kang Yobae emerged, creating outstanding landscape paintings that filled the long continued void.