Modern Korean Painting: From the Great Han Empire to the 1950s

The period between Imperial Korea (1897–1910) up to the 1950s marks a significant era for Korean art, characterized by efforts towards the continuation of traditions and the establishment of new conceptual and systemic aspects. This exhibition aims to examine the precipitous currents of modern fine art, with central focus on the works of art held in the collection of Ewha Womans University Museum.
First of all, the documentary paintings of the Great Han Empire, portraits by the royal painter, and the postage stamps and schoolbooks of the time allow a glimpse into the dignified status of the empire and the introduction of new cultural facets and techniques through the imperial dynasty. Furthermore, a number of art schools were established for the purpose of continuing the lineage of traditional art and fostering successive generations of artists, which resulted in the emergence of renowned artists that led the development of modern art circles in Korea, such as Kim Eun-ho, Lee Sang-beom, No Su-hyeon, Byeon Gwan-sik, Chang Woo-soung, Kim Gi-chang, and Lee Eung-ro. This favorable attitude towards the growing prominence of Western art led to the nationwide spread of hobbyists with an interest in learning Western art and the new perception of the times towards art as a part of popular culture. Meanwhile, Western-style artistry in Korea, consisting of artists educated both in Korea and abroad, saw rapid growth through the establishment of various art organizations and exhibitions. Founded by Helen Kim and other key members with affiliations to Ewha Womans University, and widely known for having invited the most prominent artists of the day as teachers, the artists’ group Geumranmukhoe is testament to the fact that the cultured in Korea had persisted in the creation, exhibition, and appreciation of fine arts and calligraphy from the aftermath of liberation through to the 1960s. The modern paintings that laid the foundation and opened new grounds for modern artistry in Korea will yield an insight into the sensibilities that modern artists of the era had aimed to pursue, amid the rapid changes in the traditional way of life and cognitive system.