Kim Hong-do’s Genre Paintings

Also called: Danwon pungsokdo cheop

The court painter Kim Hong-do depicted commoners at work and play — the village school, wrestling, a boy dancer — in humorous circular compositions without backgrounds.

Kim Hong-do (pen name Danwon) was a court painter who helped paint King Jeongjo’s portrait and excelled at landscapes, figures and immortals. In the Album of Genre Paintings by Danwon (a Treasure) — the village school, wrestling, the boy dancer, threshing, the smithy — he vividly captured ordinary people working and playing.

Backgrounds are almost omitted and figures arranged in a circle that draws the eye; bold, lively lines give an unpretentious, humorous mood — a boy crying after a scolding at school, the spectators and taffy seller around a wrestling bout. He is often contrasted with Sin Yun-bok, who painted urban aristocrats and women with refinement. The album is in the National Museum of Korea.