Still life with bronze vessels and flowering plants
A ten-panel screen of bronze vessels, flowers and fruit by Jang Seung-eop, the foremost painter of late Joseon Korea, made in 1894. Full commentary ↓
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Still life with bronze vessels and flowering plants is a painting by Jang Seung-eop (1894) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 195.6 × 431.8 cm.
In the pictureEach panel of this ten-panel folding screen shows bronze incense burners, wine cups, vases, flowering branches and fruit painted in ink, and each panel carries a short inscription. There is almost no color; the weight of the metal and the lightness of the petals are set apart through shades of ink alone. Fully unfolded, the screen is more than 4 meters wide.
BackgroundPaintings of vessels and flowering branches (gimyeong jeolji) form a genre that pairs ancient bronzes with cut flowers and fruit; it came from China and became widely popular at the end of the Joseon dynasty. Jang Seung-eop (Owon) is counted with An Gyeon and Kim Hong-do among the three great painters of Joseon. He never had a formal education but was a genius with the brush, and he was famous for his drinking and free-spirited life. This screen dates from 1894, three years before his death.
Puzzle tipBecause the picture is extremely wide, the pieces come out wide and short. First set up the vertical margin pieces between the ten panels to divide the board into sections, then fill each section using the vessel pieces (dark ink, clear shapes) as anchors. The inscriptions sit in a different spot on each panel, so their pieces make good landmarks.
- Artist
- Korean, 1843–1897
- Period
- Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
- Culture
- Korea
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Ten-panel folding screen; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- 195.6 × 431.8 cm
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Anita H. Berger, in memory of Ambassador Samuel D. Berger, 2014
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
In these collections: Seollal Korean Painting Puzzles · Spring Masterpiece Puzzles · Flower Painting Puzzles
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From Goryeo Buddhist paintings to Joseon-era literati painting, portraits, landscapes and folding screens. A genre-by-genre tour of the 18 Korean paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, each one a puzzle.
