"Revived Hopes in Paintings" at the National Palace Museum of Korea
Denver Art Museum's "Baekdongjado Byeongpung" Unveiled for the First Time
Two Joseon dynasty folding screens held by an American museum have been preserved using Korean techniques and are being unveiled to the public for the first time.
One panel of Guwonmongdo Byeongpung on the left and the sixth panel on the right. The former depicts Seongjin meeting the Eight Immortal Fairies, and the latter shows Yang Soyu dreaming of meeting Baekneungpa, the daughter of the Dragon King.
The National Palace Museum of Korea announced on the 23rd that it will present the Guwonmongdo Byeongpung and Baekdongjado Byeongpung folding screens at the special exhibition "Revived Hopes in Paintings," which will be held from June 25 to July 20. These works were brought to Korea by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation in October 2023 for preservation and restoration. Although the screens were damaged and deformed in various places, they have been restored to closely resemble their original appearance after more than a year of preservation work. After the special exhibition, they will be returned to the United States.
The Guwonmongdo Byeongpung, held by the Portland Art Museum in the United States, is a painting that depicts major scenes from the novel "Guwonmong" across ten panels. "Guwonmong," written by Kim Manjung (1637-1692) and published in the late 17th century, was so beloved that it became fashionable to depict its story on folding screens.
The painting on the screen sequentially illustrates the story of Seongjin, a disciple of Master Yukgwan, reincarnating as Yang Soyu, forming relationships with eight women, and enjoying wealth and honor. The novel’s lesson that worldly success is but a fleeting dream, as well as the wish for prosperity and happiness, are emphasized throughout the work.
It is said that this folding screen was received around 1910 by Mary Elizabeth Church, a missionary at Ewha Hakdang, from the parents of one of her students. She took it back to the United States and gifted it to a friend, whose daughter, Jacqueline Boyd, later donated it to the Portland Art Museum.
The Cultural Heritage Administration, which was in charge of the preservation, corrected the altered arrangement of the paintings and restored the changed mountings by referencing the remaining original fabric. Each panel of the screen was also extended by about 2.5 cm to reveal previously hidden parts of the paintings.
Comparison of the 'Baekdongjado Folding Screen' before (left) and after (right) removing the green artificial pigment applied during past restoration.
The Baekdongjado Byeongpung, owned by the Denver Art Museum, depicts numerous children playing peacefully in a pavilion. Scenes of cockfighting, official processions, monkey play, and plum picking express wishes for abundance and prosperity, the flourishing of descendants, and advancement in officialdom. "Baekdongjado" is one of the representative auspicious paintings of the late Joseon period. It was widely used in royal weddings and court banquets, and was also beautifully displayed in private homes.
The Denver Art Museum acquired this folding screen in 1970 through an Asian antiquities gallery in New York. The circumstances of its export to the United States remain unclear. However, during the preservation process, a piece of newspaper from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun dated 1960 was found in the frame, suggesting that the screen was likely exported around that time.
This folding screen was contaminated and damaged in many areas. Traces were also found where artificial pigment (chrome green) had been painted over the original natural pigment (green malachite). The Cultural Heritage Administration removed as much of the artificial pigment as possible and filled in with new fabric. In addition, the overall mounting of the screen was restored with reference to the colors and forms of late 19th-century folding screens.
An official said, "Both folding screens have regained their original appearance thanks to the hands of domestic preservation experts. As this is their first public unveiling in Korea before returning to the United States, we hope many people will come to appreciate them."
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