Hwajogujado (Flowers, Birds, and Puppies) by Yi Am

Yi Am (1499–?), the painter of Hwajogujado, was a great-grandson of Prince Imyeong (1420–1469), the fourth son of King Sejong the Great; his courtesy name was Jeongjung, and he was appointed to the fifth-grade rank of Duseongnyeong. He is said to have excelled at yeongmohwa (paintings of birds and animals) and at flower painting. This work depicts a scene in which three puppies leisurely bask in the sun against a backdrop of flowering trees on a warm spring day. Two birds perch on a curving branch; rather than facing each other, they gaze as if responding to a butterfly and a bee flying toward the branch. The three puppies are already familiar from another of Yi Am's paintings, Mogyeondo (Mother Dog), held by the National Museum of Korea. Among them, the yellow puppy rests its face on its front paws in a deep sleep, while the black puppy, which closely resembles its mother, has apparently heard something and stares to the right with wide round eyes. Meanwhile, the white puppy in the foreground stretches its tail out and plays, biting a grasshopper perched on a leaf. Overall, the subject matter and compositional elements are entirely natural and harmonious, conveying to the viewer the peaceful atmosphere of a warm spring day. The area beneath the tree and the rock in the lower left of the composition are rendered using danseonjeomjun (short-line dot texturing), a technique favoured in the early Joseon period, reflecting the stylistic character of the time. In the upper right of the composition are a tripod-shaped seal and a square intaglio seal reading "Jeongjung", Yi Am's courtesy name. This work is not only datable to a considerably early period with a securely identified painter, but is also one of the few surviving early-to-mid Joseon paintings that clearly display a distinctive and characteristically Korean painting style.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물