The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

A vertically long hanging scroll painting of a winter landscape. There are small houses nestled against the towering mountain peaks, which are topped by spindly trees.

Winter Landscape

1500s

Yeoseol

(Korean)
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
hanging scroll; ink and slight color on silk
Image: 92.4 x 52.7 cm (36 3/8 x 20 3/4 in.); Overall: 195.6 x 74.9 cm (77 x 29 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1986.45
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This wintry scenery was mainly painted in monochrome ink, but some details like the rider's horse saddle and the servant's carrier attest the use of light blue pigment.

Description

This wintry vista is a vivid example of idealistic monumental painting: the strong contrasts of ink washes and contouring brush lines; the bold outlining of rock shapes and tree trunks; and the many short, twisting brushstrokes that build up the surfaces of the rocks. Much of the painting’s appeal can be attributed to the dynamic lines and contrasting tonal patterns that lead the viewer’s eye from the lower foreground toward the cold mountain peaks in the distance. In the corner is a seal that reads "Yeoseol," meaning "Snow-Like."
  • ?–1986
    (Kozo Yabumoto 藪本公三, Amagasaki, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1986–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (February 1987): 38–79. Reproiduced: p. 55; Mentioned: p. 79, no. 236 www.jstor.org
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 77, cat. no. 48
    Hong, Sun-pyo. "Understanding and Adopting Chinese Painting in 15th-and-16th-century Korean Art Scene [15ㆍ16세기 조선화단의 중국화 인식과 수용태도]." Misulsa nondan (2008): 49-73. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2014.
    Exquisite and Precious: The Splendor of Korean Art. Seoul: Samsung Museum Leeum, 2015. Reproduced: p. 217, plate 116
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "Cross-cultural Dialogues and Misattributions in Early Joseon Period Landscape Paintings." Arts of Asia 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018): 78-84. Reproduced: p. 79, fig. 2; p. 84, fig. 13 (detail)
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "The Past and Present of the Korean Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 22-37. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 31–32, fig. 26
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 180-181, no. 111
    Chang, Chin-Sung. "The Significance of 16th-Century Korean Landscape Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 296-303. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 296-303, pl. 111
    편집 양 수미 [and three others], 국립 중앙 박물관 (Korea), p’yŏnjip Yang Su-mi [and three others], and Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan (Korea). 화조미감 = 花鳥美感 = the Sense of Beauty within Bird-and-Flower Paintings. Edited by 양 수미 and Su-mi Yang. Sŏul T’ŭkpyŏlsi: 국립 중앙 박물관, 2025. Reproduced: p. 197, no. 147; Mentioned: p. 503
  • Art of the Early Joseon. National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea (Republic of) (organizer) (June 9-August 31, 2025).
    From Dreaming to Hiking: Korean Landscape Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-September 29, 2024).
    Exquisite and Precious: The Splendor of Korean Art. Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea (Republic of) (organizer) (July 2-September 13, 2015).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 238). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 13, 2013-January 28, 2014)
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    Mountains, Rocks, and Water: Landscape Painting in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-December 13, 1987).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Winter Landscape|url=false|author=Yeoseol|year=1500s|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.45