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Painting of the Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks on Single-panel Screen

19th century~Early 20th century

National Palace Museum of Korea

National Palace Museum of Korea
Seoul, South Korea

The most representative theme of Joseon’s royal paintings, depicted in this screen, symbolizes the king’s authority and dignity, and presents a wish that the dynasty would last forever. This screen of the sun, moon, and five peaks was always set behind the king’s royal throne, eojwa, as well as the places for the ancestral tablet and the king’s portrait, eojin. Diverse formats, including a general screen type of four, six, or eight panels, a standing type on a separate pedestal, and a type painted on a pair of four sliding doors, were used to paint the sun, moon and five peaks. The elements of the screen and the basic composition of the painting were the same, but there were slight variations of the details of the description and the location of the objects. Vivid colors, such as blue, red, green, white, and black, were used. The records about this painting were found in the royal protocols regarding royal architecture, such as Royal Protocol Recording the Construction of Injeongjeon Hall(1805), and Royal Protocol Recording the Construction of Junghwajeon Hall(1907). A large sized single-panel screen of the sun, moon, and five peaks in a wooden frame was put on a separate pedestal. The two pulleys, attached side by side on the top of the wooden frame, seem to have been used to raise or lower objects. Considering that similar kinds of single-panel of the sun, moon, and five peaks were found in the illustrations of the Royal Protocol of the Office of Royal Portrait Reproduction (published in 1901 and 1902), the pedestal types seem to have been used for the production and enshrinement of the portraits of the king. Three works of the pedestal type are housed at the National Palace Museum of Korea.

Details

  • Title: Painting of the Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks on Single-panel Screen
  • Date Created: 19th century~Early 20th century
  • Rights: National palace museum of Korea
  • Medium: Paintings

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