The hwajohwa Genre (Bird-and-flower Painting) in Korean Traditional Painting of the Early and Middle Chosŏn Periods (Late 14th – Late 17th Centuries)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the hwajohwa artistic genre (bird-and-flower painting) of the early and middle Chosŏn periods (late 14th – late 17th centuries). The study identifies the historical and cultural context, the stylistic evolution of the bird-and-flower painting and the main terms for its designation. It presents individual artistic trends, examines the techniques used in Korean traditional painting. Moreover, the author outlines the leading artists who worked in this genre during the indicated period. In the early Chosŏn period (1392 – c. 1550), the hwajohwa genre gained particular relevance in traditional Korean painting, and a high artistic level was achieved in it. Vivid painting in the bird-and-flower genre, made in the academic style of court painting, became the most common and indicative of this historical period. In the process of the formation and strengthening of the positions of the new Yi dynasty, the ruling circles commissioned social paintings. Therefore, the works are characterised by an optimistic mood; the compositions are full of idyll and harmony with the world around them. Artist Yi Am, who laid the foundations for the development of the hwajohwa genre in Korea, was the most prominent representative of this movement. At the same time, scholar painters began to create small landscapes with birds, made only with water and ink. Confucian scholar Kim Jŏng is rightfully considered the founder of this scenic movement. The Middle Joseon period (c. 1550–1700) was characterised by the flourishing of the hwajohwa genre in the technique of monochrome ink painting. Many intellectual artists from the upper strata of Korean society emerged, for whom the bird-and-flower genre became a means of expressing deep personal relationships with nature and the world around them. Korea of the second half of the 16th–17th centuries suffered from numerous foreign invasions; thus, lonely and weary birds, sleeping or resting on the branches of trees, became the main and most popular motif in the hwajohwa genre. Such painting was a direct reflection of the feelings of the educated stratum of Korean society about the fate of their homeland. Paintings by scholar painter Cho Sok and court painter Yi Jin were the most popular works of the bird-and-flower genre of this period.