The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 5, 2024

Cityscape of Pyongyang

Cityscape of Pyongyang

late 1800s
(Korean, 1865–1938)
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
Ten-panel folding screen; ink and color on silk
Painting: 98.3 x 307.3 cm (38 11/16 x 121 in.); Overall framed: 210.2 x 325.5 cm (82 3/4 x 128 1/8 in.)
Partial purchase from the Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund and partial gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D. 2022.141
Location: 236 Korean

Did You Know?

By the end of the 1800s, Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea, was nicknamed the “Jerusalem of the East” for its high Christian population.

Description

Today Pyongyang is better known as the capital of North Korea, one of the world’s most oppressive regimes. But during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) the city was largely famous for three things: good local government, economic stability, and talented entertainers. Thus, the king's favored senior court officials were often appointed to Pyongyang's governor prior to their full retirement.

Painted by Kim Yoon-bo, native to Pyongyang, this folding screen provides us with a better understanding of the late 19th-century Korean landscape paintings characteristics with topographic accuracy without losing the sophistication of calligraphic brushwork.
  • March 21, 2018
    (Bonhams New York, NY, 21 March 2018 sale, lot 2293, sold to Joseph P. and Roberta L. Carroll)
    2018–2022
    (The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Prof. Roberta L. Carroll, MD, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2022–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Son, Myeonghee. "Pre-modern and Modern Pyongyang as Represented in Joseon-Period Maps and Paintings [조선시대 평양성도를 통해 본 평양의 모습과 지역적 성격]." Hanguk gojido yeongu no. 1 (2009): 63-84. www.kci.go.kr
    Bonham's New York. Fine Japanese and Korean Art. 21 March 2018. Lot no. 2293. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 135, lot no. 2293
    Kim, Mi-jung and So, Hyun-su. "A Study on the Characteristics of Humanistic Landscape in Pyongyang Castle through Pictorial Maps in the Late Joseon Dynasty [조선후기 회화식 고지도를 통해 본 평양성의 인문경관 특성]." Journal of Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture 38, no. 2 (2020): 14-30. www.kci.go.kr
  • From Dreaming to Hiking: Korean Landscape Paintings (Korean art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-September 29, 2024).
    Mountains and Rivers Beyond the DMZ – Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 21-July 21, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Cityscape of Pyongyang|url=false|author=Kim Yoon-bo|year=late 1800s|access-date=05 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.141