Lecture by Robert D. Mowry: Adoption, Assimilation, Transformation, 2015

Lecture Robert D. Mowry, Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and Senior Consultant on Chinese and Korean Art, Christie’s, New York, discusses the history and development of Korean ink paintings. The lecture titled, "Adoption, Assimilation, Transformation: Korean Painting of the Koryŏ (918-1392) and Chosŏn (1392-1910) Dynasties." This illustrated slide lecture presents an introductory overview of the development of Korean painting during the Koryŏ (918-1392) and Chosŏn (1392-1910) dynasties, covering all four major categories of work: Buddhist painting, literati painting (sometimes also called Sino-Korean painting), portrait painting, and folk painting. The Korean painting and ceramic traditions took inspiration from those of China, and Korean paintings and ceramics thus relate closely to those created in contemporaneous China. Even so, once they had fully mastered Chinese techniques, Korean artists typically transformed the subjects, formats, and styles adopted from China to meet their own aesthetic needs, thereby establishing distinctive Korean styles that reflect their Chinese origins but stand apart from them. That background will lay the foundation for understanding modern and contemporary Korean ink painting. Robert D. Mowry is a former Peace Corps Korea volunteer from cohot K-03, which arrived in Korea in October 1967. This lecture takes place on 2015 March 23.