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Folding Screen of Gunseondo (Daoist Immortals) by Kim Hong-do

김홍도 필 군선도 병풍 ( 金弘道 筆 群仙圖 屛風 )

Heritage Search Detail
Classification National Treasure
Name of Cultural Properties Folding Screen of Gunseondo (Daoist Immortals) by Kim Hong-do
Quantity 8 Pages
Designated Date 1971.12.21
Age Joseon (1776)
Address Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, 60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

The picture portraying the images of supernatural figures associated with Buddhism or Daoism was painted by Kim Hong-do (pen-name: Danwon and many others; (1745-?), who made a name for himself as a painter in the late Joseon Period (1392-1910). The picture was originally contained in an eight-part folding screen but is now rearranged in three hanging scrolls. Combining the parts together, the picture measures 575.8cm (L) by 132.8cm (W). Each of the three hanging scrolls containing the parts measures 48.8cm by 28cm. The picture was painted on a sheet of paper mainly in Chinese ink, using blue, brown, and crimson colors as well. The one on the right, seated on a cow with only one horn and holding a book of Taoteching, was thought to be Laozi. There are Daoist deities, including Dong Fang Shuo holding a peach, and baby monks next to him, all looking to the left. Their contours were portrayed in thick lines and rapid, energetic strokes, and their facial expressions, hands, and other objects, in thin, exquisite lines. The layout of people with no backdrop landscape, the realistic portrayal of people’s facial expressions, and the round eyes of the people are features that are often found in his genre paintings. This picture features his portrayal of people in magnanimous, bold yet casual strokes. His style heavily influenced the paintings of Daoist deities made by Kim Deuk-sin and Yi Myeong-gi in the late Joseon Period.