Korea, Choson Period / Portrait of a Monk / 18th CenturyKorea, Choson Period
Portrait of a Monk
18th Century

View Larger Image

View Full Catalog Record Below



This image is one of over 108,000 from the AMICA Library (formerly The Art Museum Image Consortium Library- The AMICO Library™), a growing online collection of high-quality, digital art images from over 20 museums around the world. www.davidrumsey.com/amica offers subscriptions to this collection, the finest art image database available on the internet. EVERY image has full curatorial text and can be studied in depth by zooming into the smallest details from within the Image Workspace.
 
Preview the AMICA Library™ Public Collection in Luna Browser Now

  • Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works.
  • Types of works include paintings, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, furniture, prints, photographs, textiles, decorative art, books and manuscripts.

Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com .



Creator Nationality: Asian; Far East Asian; Korean
Creator Dates/Places: Korea
Creator Active Place: Korea
Creator Name-CRT: Korea, Choson Period
Title: Portrait of a Monk
Title Type: Primary
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1700
Creation End Date: 1799
Creation Date: 18th Century
Object Type: Paintings
Materials and Techniques: Hanging scroll, Ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Overall: 114.7cm x 79.7cm
AMICA Contributor: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 1990.16
Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Rights: http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html
Context: With the fall of the Koryo dynasty, Buddhism went into a serious decline in Korea. The newly established Choson dynasty favored the tenets of Confucianism and supported it vigorously into the eighteenth century, while at the same time suppressing Buddhist institutions and religious practices. But this state effort was not entirely successful, for shamanistic and Buddhist values had by then become deeply instilled in the populace, especially among the lower social classes. Out of necessity Buddhist temples found other, private means of support for preserving their institutions and rituals that included ancestor worship as well as prayer offerings to all the deceased with the hope that they might be reborn into the Western Paradise. Buddhist activists in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries helped form armies to repel the invading Japanese forces. These efforts were rewarded by the court and thereby helped bring about a revival of Buddhism in the mid-Choson period, led by eminent monks. This portrait issues from that period and from the older, enduring Korean tradition of ancestral and shamanistic portraiture. These paintings were especially commissioned for annual family rites, and they were frequently displayed in special buildings for that purpose. Buddhist monasteries, too, customarily had a building within their grounds set aside specifically for worship in which portraits of illustrious priests or temple founders were continuously on display. These were intended to inspire young monks and asa way to transmit temple history. Although he remains unidentified, this impressive monk was likely a high priest of the Son (Zen) sect, which became popular in Korea in the sixteenth century. He is seated on a mat in front of a low desk. A set of religious books is depicted, one volume of which is open to reveal the text written in gold script. A wooden writing box with brush, water dropper, ink stone, and ink stick are visible. The monk holds a staff with an elaborate dragon's head finial from which a long whisk of white hair issues. Elegantly painted, it is transparent, revealing the monk's multicolored, gold-brocaded robes. His face, in contrast, is plainly detailed and penetrating in its distant expression. The painting no doubt provided suitable inspiration to those who meditated before it, seeking guidance in the conduct of their religious career through the lessons of past enlightened masters. M.R.C.
AMICA ID: CMA_.1990.16
AMICA Library Year: 1998
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, The Cleveland Museum of Art

AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder.

Home | Subscribe | Preview | Benefits | About | Help | Contact
Copyright © 2007 Cartography Associates.
All rights reserved.