Artwork Page for Grapes

Details / Information for Grapes

Grapes

묵포도도 [墨葡萄圖]

1700s

Korea, Joseon dynasty

(1392–1910)
Medium
hanging scroll, ink on silk
Measurements
Image: 101 x 47 cm (39 3/4 x 18 1/2 in.); Overall: 176.5 x 73 cm (69 1/2 x 28 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1999.43
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Grape wine was introduced to the Korean court in the 1200s, but the common classes did not have many opportunities to enjoy it until the 20th century.

Description

Grapes began to be employed as artistic motifs in Korean art after their introduction to the peninsula around the 600s through the Silk Road, the ancient global trade route. Artists used them to embellish the surfaces of mother-of-pearl lacquer boxes and blue-and-white porcelain, while scholar-poets composed poems about the luscious sweet sourness of green grapes. Grape paintings such as this were hung on a wall especially in a scholar’s elegant study during the summer season when deep blue grapes ripen.
A hanging scroll with black ink on tan silk depicts a grapevine with a thick, undulating vine sweeping down from the upper center and meandering toward the bottom. Clusters of round, dark grapes and large, lobed leaves in varied ink tones are sprinkled along the vine. Fine, curling tendrils spiral from the branches, while expressive brushstrokes convey a sense of rhythmic movement throughout the vertical composition.

Grapes

1700s

Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)

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