권훈칠과 마키아이올리: 안식과 치유의 공간으로서의 풍경화

Abstract

Kwon Hoon-chill, who appeared in the 1970s with abstract paintings known for thick textures, suddenly left Korea to study in Italy in the late 1980s. While studying in Italy, he abandoned the texture-oriented abstract painting advocated by his master Jung Chang-seop and devoted himself to landscapes. He had consistently done landscapes before he came to Italy. His renewed passion for the genre was sparked when his studies in Rome led him to Ottocento, or 19th century painting in Italy. Ottocento was created by a group of Italian painters known as Macchiaioli, who wanted to capture the land and scenery of their homeland, an artistic movement that reflected a nationalist fervor for unification in Italy. Starting in Tuscany and Florence, the Macchiaoli developed a style that were often compared to that of the French Impressionists, which soon became internationally prominent. The Italian painters were, pursuing their own nationalist agenda; representing natural scenes of the homeland set in the composition reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance masters. Many of Kwon Hoon-chill’s domestic watercolor landscapes were clearly influenced by the Macchiaoli; full of space, individual rest, and love for his country and landscape.