[One Thousand Characters a Day] Jeong Yeoul's 'Art Museum Only for Me' <2>

Editor's NoteWriter Jeong Yeoul reflects that while wandering through art museums, she was finally able to be freed from an inexplicable sense of lack in life when she found a painting that touched her heart. She says that no matter how noisy the world is and how much it troubles us, having just one painting cherished in the heart makes one feel not lonely. In the first hall of The Art Museum Just for Me, titled 'Paintings Opening a Brilliant Tomorrow,' works that bring hope to life are displayed, and in the second hall, 'Love, Engraving the Moment It Became Eternal,' paintings that give courage to fall in love are splendidly exhibited. The author focuses on the goddess Horae, who runs barefoot and covers Venus with a cloak in Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, marveling that this is what true 'hospitality' needed in this era might be. Word count: 977.

There are countless paintings depicting the beauty of Venus, but the Venus most beloved worldwide is undoubtedly Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. When visiting the Uffizi Gallery, everyone confidently advances toward Botticelli's Venus just as if they were marching in a line to find the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Botticelli's Venus is the symbol of the Uffizi and its most popular painting, so it is practically impossible to take a 'proof shot' photo alone in front of it. It is always surrounded by a huge crowd, making solo photography nearly impossible. What more can be said about Venus's radiant beauty? The theme I want to focus on in this painting is the 'hospitality' of the goddess of the seasons, Horae, who approaches Venus with a flower-patterned cloak fluttering in the wind.

If someone asks, "What is hospitality?" I want to show them this painting. Hospitality is exactly like this. Running barefoot, wholeheartedly accepting someone without any hesitation. It is the warm heart that worries if the other might be cold, prepares a cozy and beautiful cloak in advance, and wants to quickly run over and cover them with it. It is the heart that wonders, "What can I give?" while worrying in advance if the other might be hungry, lonely, or sad?that is the spirit of hospitality.

(Omitted)

The goddess of love, Venus, does not only love attractive others. One of Venus's greatest strengths is her endless self-love. She regrets nothing, kneels to no one, and never loses her confidence wherever she is. She seems to whisper to us like this: admire yourself as the goddess of love admires her own beauty. Venus's confidence, as if having thrown away fear of others, self-hatred, or complexes far away. And the warmth of the goddess of the seasons, Horae, who practices infinite hospitality toward others?all these qualities make one want to become such a person.

- Jeong Yeoul, The Art Museum Just for Me, Woongjin Knowledge House, 19,000 KRW