豹菴 姜世晃의 <禹金巖圖>와 「遊禹金巖記」

초록

Wu Geum Am Do(禹金巖圖) by Pyo Am Kang Se Hwang(豹菴 姜世晃 in around 1770(at the age of 58)), only recently known to the academic world(LACMA 所藏), is worth paying attention to in the sense that it represents the late Chosun Dynasty Literati Gi Yu Do (紀遊圖 journey painting). What makes this painting notable is the fact that Pyo Am wrote down the accounts of the journey in the same roll after he painted the real landscape of the Mt. Wu Geum Am. These journey accounts also appear as Yu Wu Geum Am Gi (遊禹金巖記 accounts of the journey to the Mt. Wu Geum Am) in Pyo Am Yu Go(『豹菴遺稿』), his collection of literature, which makes this painting highly valuable as historical material. Pyo Am recognized the Landscape Paintings as Wa Yoo Ji Ja (臥遊之資: enjoyment of viewing in bed), and focused especially on vivid depiction of views considering that the Real Landscape Paintings should give a sense of actuality. It is important to note that he aimed to realize the quintessential ideals of literati arts while he was buried deep in his contemporary trend of San Su Yu Ram (山水遊覽: journey to mountains and waters). That is, his aim was to put into practice “the universal, timeless spirit of the Landscape Painting while living in a particular era.” This reminds us of the importance of the balanced approach so that we should have a comprehensive perspective of both the universal quintessence of literati arts and the specific historic context when dealing with the Literati Real Landscape Paintings. This painting requires extra caution in interpreting due to the fact that it was painted in the Jeol Pil Gi (絶筆期 stop using brush) period, when Pyo Am was 58 and had decided not to paint anymore. One cannot, however, confidently say (although he is tempted to) that this period is no longer be called Jeol Pil Gi because the painting was produced during that period. Rather, the fact that he painted “privately” while he publicly claimed to stop painting implies something significant. It shows how much his spirit of literati arts was inspired when he traveled around Wu Geum Am area so that he could not help but paint and write about the scenery. It is not until one has understood this that one can have a proper sense of the unique characteristic of Wu Geum Am Do. Prima facie, this painting might look like a mere sketch or primer, but it is actually a complete masterpiece of artistic density made only possible by years of training and sheer talent. This meditative painting also shows high sincerity and purity, and allows the viewer a sense of reality and even the sense of refreshment which he can experience by visiting such a nice place. In the composition, Pyo Am arranged six spots in the landscape beside which are written records dividing the painting into five big groups, in the roll format. The atmosphere of a mountain in the wintertime is well-depicted and each of the six spots is painted in different techniques, which adds the vividness of the painting. His capacity as a literati artist who always strived to keep the literati ideals enables the painting to give the sense of simplicity and the refined taste of the true literati art. In his Real Landscape Paintings(眞景山水) he aimed at giving viewers the sense of actually being in the scene. It is interesting that even today one can visit the Mt. Wu Geum Am area and examine how sincerely Pyo Am treated the landscape. To meet, in this painting, his artistic creed that “to show the spirit of the Real Landscape, a travelogue is better than a poem, and a painting is better than a travelogue,” he maintained a good balance between reality and artistic ideology. What is more, his travelogue, which described the situations of the excursion vividly, helps us better understand the painting. In summary, Wu Geum Am Do is a painting that expresses the inspiration Pyo Am had traveling around Mt. Wu Geum in the Byun San peninsula, Bu An province in southern Korea. He first drew Mt. Wu Geum in the middle and then wrote Yu Wu Geum Am Gi. This painting is a rare case of having Gi Yu Do(journey painting) and Yu Gi (accounts of journey) in a same roll. Also, the fact that this is the only extant work of literati journey painting depicting the scene of Byun San peninsula in Bu An province makes it more significant. Wu Geum Am Do is an important historical record which helps us better understand the culture of journey then popular in the literati circle of the late Chosun Dynasty.

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