Introduction

• • All of the works displayed in the Calligraphy and Painting section are masterpieces that have been specially selected to demonstrate the characteristics of each period. The section consists of three parts, the room of masterpiece and two thematic rooms. For the conservation of the paintings and calligraphy, exhibition replacements are planned thrice a year in this section.

  Themes Currently on Display

  • ○ Flowers and Butterflies in Joseon Paintings

    Joseon-era Koreans cultivated their minds by growing flowers, and they studied the ways of nature by observing the lives of insects. The hobby of growing flowers was especially popular among the literati and intellectuals during and after the eighteenth century. An interest in flower paintings increased accordingly, and a vast body of butterfly paintings were produced as well. These butterfly paintings embodied wishes for longevity and were favored by many. In this season of blooming flowers and flying butterflies, it is hoped that this exhibition can offer visitors an opportunity to take a closer look at flowers and butterflies in old paintings and better understand the thoughts and feelings of Koreans of the past.

    
    

  • ○ Gallery 202-4·5 : Appreciating Paintings and Calligraphy Joyfully (January 17. 2023. - May 14. 2023.)

    Appreciating calligraphy and painting can be pleasant. It is entertaining to follow the traces of a brush on paper or silk or to encounter skillfully added colors. For an even more enjoyable appreciation of calligraphy and painting, a few crumbs of information is presented here. When you read the texts translated from Chinese into Korean, you can better understand the sentiments of the calligraphers and painters of the past as they combined literature and imagination with reality and hope. Once you understand their sentiments, you see the lines and colors in the calligraphy and paintings from a different perspective. This exhibition features a wide variety of paintings and calligraphic works from the Joseon dynasty, including pure calligraphy and portraits, bird-and-flower, and decorative court paintings. We would like to invite you to immune with the ancients by immersing yourselves in appreciation of calligraphy and painting.