Gim Hongdo (김홍도, born 1745, died 1806?-1814?), also known as Kim Hong-do, most often styled Danwon (단원), was a full-time painter of the

Joseon period Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

of Korea. He was together a pillar of the establishment and a key figure of the new trends of his time, the 'true view painting'. Gim Hong-do was an exceptional artist in every field of traditional painting, even if he is mostly remembered nowadays for his depictions of the everyday life of ordinary people, in a manner analogous to the

Dutch Masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Repub ...

Biography

Danwon was a member of the Gimhae Gim clan. He grew up in present-day Ansan, South Korea. At the age of 7, Gim Hong-do studied under the renowned master Pyoam

Kang Se-hwang Kang Sehwang (1713–1791) was a high government official but also a representative painter, calligrapher and art critic of the mid Joseon period. He was born in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, the son of Kang Hyeon. He entered royal service at over s ...

, who was then living in seclusion in Ansan. In 1766, at the age of 21, on the recommendation of Kang Sehwang, he entered the royal service as a member (hwawon) of the Dohwaseo, the official painters of the Joseon court. In 1771, he painted the portrait of the Royal Heir (the future King Jeongjo). In 1773, he assisted Byeon Sang-byeok when painting the Royal Portrait of King

Yeongjo Yeongjo of Joseon (31 October 1694 – 22 April 1776), personal name Yi Geum (Korean: 이금, Hanja: 李昑), was the 21st monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of King Sukjong, by his concubine Royal Noble Consort Suk ...

(1694–1724–1776). In 1776, he painted the "Nineteen Taoist Immortals", that skyrocketed his reputation as a painter. At the same time, the new instated King Jeongjo (1752–1776–1800) commissioned him for many institutional paintings. He died in loneliness and poverty, though the circumstances, and even the year are unknown. Sources are guessing 1806, circa 1810,Britannica. or after 1814.

Legacy

Danwon is remembered today as one of the "Three Wons," together with Hyewon and

Owon Jang Seung-eop (1843 – 1897) (commonly known by his pen name Owon) was a painter of the late Joseon Dynasty in Korea. His life was dramatized in the award-winning 2002 film ''Chi-hwa-seon'' directed by Im Kwon-taek. He was one of the few pain ...

. He is also often joined to Owon and the 15th-century painter

An Gyeon An Gyeon was a Korean painter of the early Joseon period. He was born in Jigok, Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do. He entered royal service as a member of the Dohwaseo, the official painters of the Joseon court. In 1447, he drew (몽유도원도), a land ...

as one of Joseon's three greatest painters. The city of Ansan, where he spent his youth and learned his craft, has memorialized him in many ways. The district of

Danwon-gu 'Danwon-gu'' is a district of the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The name `Danwon` came from the nickname of Kim Hong Do, a famous Korean artist of the 18th century. The previous name of Kim Hong Do's Hometown was "Ansan", the resid ...

is named after him, as is Ansan's annual "Danwon Art Festival." Many public places have been designed in imitation of his works.

Gallery

Various sources have various opinions about what could be a 'top ten' list for Gim Hong-do. The most important fact is how successful was Gim Hong-do in all the various types of paintings. Towooart provides a short notice and an argumented selection of paintings. The Korean Copyright Commission lists 757 paintings, 7 calligraphies and 4 moldings for Gim Hong-do. Some paintings have multiple descriptions: often a sepia version is given with a very fine resolution, and a colorful one with a lower resolution. An example is "Feast for the Pyongyang Governor" (평양감사 향안도). * The paintings that launched the reputation of Gim Hongdo. * 'Literati' paintings.

Image:ChongSeokJeong.jpg, ChongSeokJeong Image:Hwangmyo.jpg, A cat and a butterfly
Hwangmyonongjeopdo Image:Songhamaenghodo.jpg, Tiger under a pine tree
Songhamaenghodo Image:Kim Hong-do, Songhachwisaengdo.jpg, Drunkard under a tree
Songhachwisaengdo Image:죽하맹호도.jpg, Tiger underneath a Bamboo
Jukhamenghodo

* Official paintings * The designated painter of the King * "Genre paintings". Among them, the album Danwon pungsokdo provides a serie of 25 paintings. Here are only four of them:

Image:Danwon-Seodang.jpg, Teacher and pupils

Seodang Seodang were private village schools providing elementary education during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Background They were primarily occupied with providing initial training in the Chinese classics to boys of 7-16 years of age, bu ...

(서당:書堂) Image:Danwon-Mudong.jpg, Dancing boy
Mudong (무동:舞童) Image:Danwon-Bbalrae.teo.jpg, Washing place
Bbalraeteo (빨래터:漂母) Image:Danwon-Daejanggan.jpg,

* After 1800 and the death of

King Jeongjo Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (Korean language, Korean: 이산; Hanja: 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (Korean language, Korean: 정조대왕; Hanja: 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarc ...

Fictional portrayals

Literature

The novel ''Painter of the Wind'', by Lee Jeong-myeong, is centered on Danwon and Hyewon, who is portrayed as a woman disguised as a man.

Film and television

* Portrayed by

Park Shin-yang Park Shin-yang (; born November 1, 1968) is a South Korean actor. He majored in acting at Dongguk University in South Korea and studied at the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School in Russia. From 1996 he won a number of acting awards in ...

in the 2008 SBS TV series ''

Painter of the Wind ''Painter of the Wind'' () is a 2008 South Korean historical television series starring Moon Geun-young and Park Shin-yang. Based on the bestselling historical fiction novel by Lee Jung-myung that took artistic license with the premise that per ...

''.Mysterious Artist Resurfaces on Modern Culture Scene

Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

, 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2010-07-07. * Portrayed by

Kim Young-ho Kim Young-ho (born April 9, 1971 in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea) is a South Korean foil fencer. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he won the gold medal in individual foil, defeating Ralf Bissdorf of Germany Germany,, ...

in the 2008 film '' Portrait of a Beauty''. * Portrayed by

Kim Da-hyun Kim Da-hyun (born Kim Se-hyun on January 1, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. Kim made his entertainment debut in 1999 as the lead vocalist of the rock band ''Yada'' (which disbanded in 2004). Since then, he has been actively engaged i ...

in the 2011 SBS TV series ''

Warrior Baek Dong-soo ''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' () is a 2011 South Korean fusion historical/action television series starring Ji Chang-wook in the title role, with Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul. It aired on SBS from July 4 ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Encyclopedia of Korean culture-Gim hong doArts of Korea
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Gim Hong-do {{DEFAULTSORT:Gim, Hong-do 1745 births 19th-century deaths 18th-century Korean painters Gimhae Kim clan 18th-century Korean poets People from Ansan