An Jung-sik

An Jung-sik (안중식, 安中植, 1861-1919), pen name Simjeon (심전), was an artist who lived at the very end of the Joseon period. He was a key person to pursue the transition that started from the "true view landscape" of Jeong Seon (1676-1759) towards the nowadays way of handling the fine arts (미술) in both Korea's.[1]

In this Korean name, the family name is An.

Biography

The Royal Bureau of Painting

An Jung-sik was born in Seoul and studied painting under Jang Seung-eop (1843-1897), pen name Owon (오원), a 19th century artist known for his incredible ink painting capabilities and overall well-roundedness in an array of painting styles. After practicing and learning under Jang, An joined the Royal Bureau of Painting (Dohwaseo, Korean: 도화서, Hanja: 圖畵署). An became well acquainted with Jo Seok-jin (조석진, 趙錫晋, 1853-1920), another painter who was also working for the Royal Joseon court.[2] Both painters were highly praised and respected for their contributions to royal art. In 1881, An and Jo were chosen to accompany a diplomatic trip to Tianjin, China, where the two learned how to draw mechanical blueprints from the Chinese Bureau of Machinery. Within this year-long mission, An and Jo picked up on Western technology and industrial painting styles.[2][3][4] An continued to learn new painting methods when he visited Shanghai after the Tianjin diplomatic trip. Upon his return to Korea in 1892, he was designated the role of prefect of Jipyeong, then was promoted to governor of Ansan in 1894. In 1899, he returned to Shanghai and continued his study before there he moved to Gifu, Japan, for two years until his exile.[4][5]

Paintings

Spring Dawn at Mt. Baegak

Among An Jung-sik's main works, is the twofold painting: "Spring Dawn at Mt. Baegak" (Baegakchunhyo, 백악춘효), Registered Cultural Heritage No. 485. Drawing several views of the same landscape according to the seasons (chun=spring, ha, chu, dong) is a recurrent theme across the centuries (e.g. the famous Eight views of the Four Seasons by An Gyeon).

But this twofold painting is slightly different. One panel is '여름본' Summer (more yellow tone, with two tigers), the other is '가을본' Fall (more brown tone, with only one tiger). Both can be seen at National Museum of Korea. First of all, this painting is remarquable by the way it mixes composition and strokes from the traditional Joseon heritage with the Western trends, especially the use of perspective (mathematical projective geometry).[6]

Gwanghwamun rebuild,
the main gate of
the Gyeongbok Palace
Summer
Fall
Baegakchunhyo
Registered Cultural Heritage No. 485.

On the upper left corner of the yellow tone painting, one can read the Chinese inscription '白岳春曉' (=백악춘효) meaning 'Dawn of Spring facing Mount Baekak'. Next to it, a little smaller, is written 乙卯 夏日 (=을묘하일, Eul-myo Ha-il) i.e. summer 1915, followed by '心田安中植' (=심전 안중식) i.e. An Jung-sik. On the brown tone painting, the second part of inscription is modified into 乙卯 秋日 (=을묘추일, Eul-myo Chu-il) i.e. autumn 1915.

This raise the question: why does the painter wrote down 'Eulmyo in the fall' on the painted work 'Springtime dawn of Baekak'?.[7] An answer can be found in the fact that in 1915, a 'Korea Trade Fair' was held on the premise of the Gyeongbok Palace by the Japanese Government-General. This leads to the demolition of many buildings in the palace complex, preparing the erection (1916-1926) of the massive Japanese General Government Building. In this context, Mount Baekak and even the Gwanghwamun Gate were only a pretext, the true topic being the destruction of the right 'tiger' in the frontview. This 'tiger' was not a simple decorative bloc of stone, but an haetae 해태, i.e. a mythical creature serving as a fengshui guardian against natural disasters and a symbol of law and order. In this case, the two-fold painting was about Summer and Fall of the invaded Korea.


Another great painting is a 10-panels folding screen:

Yeong-gwang Landscape 영광풍경


Other well known paintings are:

  • Feast for the 1883 Treaty
    Feast for the 1883 Treaty
  • Cheonboguyeo 천보구여
    Cheonboguyeo
    천보구여
  • Sansu (1900) 산수
    Sansu (1900)
    산수
  • Dowonmunjin 도원문진
    Dowonmunjin
    도원문진
  • Seongjaesugan (1910)성재수간
    Seongjaesugan (1910)
    성재수간
  • Seongjaesugan (1911)성재수간
    Seongjaesugan (1911)
    성재수간

References
  1. Kim 2005, p. 22
  2. Horlyck, Charlotte (2017). Korean art from the 19th century to the present. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78023-736-7. OCLC 1003275581.
  3. A companion to Korean art. J. P. Park, Burglind Jungmann, Juhyung Rhi. Hoboken, NJ, USA. 2020. ISBN 978-1-118-92701-4. OCLC 1203959787.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. The space between : the modern in Korean art. Virginia Moon, Min-gi Kang, Joan Kee, In-hye Kim, I-sun Kim, Haeng-ga Kwŏn, Su-hyŏn Mok, Wonjung Bae, Julia H. Han, Ellen Joo, Yejin Kim, Youngin Arial Kim, Hyesung Park, Nora No, 강민기, 김 인혜, 김 이순, 권 행가, 목수현, 배원정, 노 노라, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Kungnip Hyŏndae Misulgwan. Los Angeles, California. 2022. ISBN 1-63681-058-6. OCLC 1317310006.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Interpreting modernism in Korean art : fluidity and fragmentation. Kyunghee Pyun, Jung-Ah Woo. New York. 2022. ISBN 1-000-45355-3. OCLC 1249716275.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Kim 2005, p. 17.
  7. "떠있는 구름처럼".

Bibliography
  • Kim, Young-na (2005). 20th Century Korean Art. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85669-485-2.
  • Pratt, Keith L.; Rutt, Richard; Hoare, James E. (1999). Korea, A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Durham East Asia Series. Routledge. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-7007-0463-7.
  • Turner, Jane (2003). Grove Dictionary of Art. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 32600. ISBN 978-0-1951-7068-9.

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