Gwanseomyeongseungdo Painting Album

This work is a painting album depicting, in sixteen scenes, the scenery of famous sites in the Gwanseo region, comprising northern Hwanghae Province and the Pyeongan Province area. The scenes are as follows. Scene 1: Birobong Peak, Chilseongbong Peak, Wonmanbong Peak, Dongsuryeong Pass, Munpilbong Peak, Geumgang-gul Cave. Scene 2: Myohyangsan Mountain. Scene 3: Wollimjin Ferry, Simjinjeong Pavilion. Scene 4: Seokchang, Eocheon Station. Scene 5: Yaksan Mountain in Yeongbyeon, Anju County. Scene 6: Bubyeongnu Pavilion, Jeongeummun Gate, Yeongwangjeong Pavilion, Daedongmun Gate, Neungnado Island. Scene 7: Yeolpajeong Pavilion in Gangdong, Gwiam Rock. Scene 8: Gangseollu Pavilion in Seongcheon, the Biryugang River, Bangseonmun Gate, Moudae Terrace. Scene 9: Hwanghangnu Pavilion in Samdeung, Aengmuju Islet. Scene 10: Damdamjeong Pavilion in Eunsan. Scene 11: Baeksangnu Pavilion in Anju, the Cheongcheongang River, Chilbulsa Temple. Scene 12: Inpungnu Pavilion in Ganggye. Scene 13: Tonggunjeong Pavilion in Uiju, the Amnokgang River. Scene 14: Gangdong-gye in Daeyuk-dong, Sangwon-gye. Scene 15: Daedongmun Gate, Yeongwangjeong Pavilion. Scene 16: Daedongmun Gate. The compositions in this album fall into two types. One, seen in Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 14, takes in a broad area and depicts the lie of its mountains and streams realistically, functioning much like a pictorial map. The other is in the style of a "famous-views painting", myeongseungdo, which highlights the scenery around a particular landform or structure in a specific locality. The views included among the Eight Scenic Sites of Gwanseo, Gwanseo Palgyeong, namely Gangseollu Pavilion in Seongcheon, Hwanghangnu Pavilion in Samdeung, Baeksangnu Pavilion in Anju, Inpungnu Pavilion in Ganggye and Tonggunjeong Pavilion in Uiju, together with Damdamjeong Pavilion in Eunsan, are rendered from viewpoints and compositions similar to earlier paintings of Gwanseo's famous sites. However, the paintings of Pyeongyang, which appear three times, in Scenes 6, 15 and 16, seem unconstrained by the viewpoint traditionally favoured. Scene 6 looks from near Daedongmun Gate toward Bubyeongnu Pavilion on the left, taking in Neungnado Island and the area to its south; Scene 15 depicts Daedongmun Gate and Yeongwangjeong Pavilion from a much closer, more horizontal viewpoint; and Scene 16 shows the inner walls of Pyeongyang Fortress as seen from its eastern side. What these three scenes share is that the viewpoint lies inside Pyeongyang Fortress itself, in contrast to earlier paintings of Pyeongyang, which generally placed the viewpoint south of the fortress, outside its walls, with the Daedonggang River in the foreground, taking in the whole fortress or its main buildings. The manner of depicting landscape in this painting closely resembles that of the "Giseongdobyeong" screen paintings of Giseong, an old name for Pyeongyang, suggesting that the two are either by the same painter or were at least made at around the same time. Among works depicting the famous sites of the Gwanseo region, the "Gwanseo Sipgyeongdobyeong" and the "Gwanseomyeonggucheop", both held by the National Museum of Korea, are also known. While some scenes in this album closely resemble those two earlier works, it also shows fresh compositions, capturing views from vantage points rarely attempted before. As an album that captures the scenery of the Gwanseo region from a variety of angles, it conveys a modern sensibility of freshness occasionally found in paintings from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. This work holds art-historical significance for comparison with existing topographical paintings, silgyeongdo, of the region, and, being in a good state of preservation, it is of high value as source material.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산