Folding Screen of Gunseondo (Daoist Immortals) by Kim Hong-do

A painting of Daoist and Buddhist figures by Danwon Kim Hong-do (1745–?), a painter of late Joseon — figures from Buddhism or Daoism with supernatural powers. It was originally a continuous eight-panel screen but is now divided into three hanging scrolls. Joined, it measures 575.8 cm by 132.8 cm; the three scrolls are each about 48.8 cm by 28 cm. It is painted mainly in ink on paper, with blue, brown and vermilion. The immortals cannot be named with certainty, but led on the right by Laozi riding a one-horned ox and holding the Daodejing, immortals such as Dongfang Shuo with his peach, and attendant boys, are divided into three groups. The gazes and robes of all the figures point to the left, and their numbers thin out in that direction, which leads the picture on and draws the viewer's eye naturally along it. The outlines of the figures are drawn quickly and boldly in thick ink, and the faces, hands and objects then worked finely with a thin brush, bringing out their expressions. The figures arranged without any background, their lively feeling and the round eyes of their faces are features seen often in his genre paintings. Though painted after a model, it is a work of distinctive figure painting in a bold brush. His manner passed to Kim Deuk-sin, Yi Myeong-gi and others, and greatly influenced paintings of immortals in late Joseon.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보