Gimhongdo Pil Chuseong Buddhist Stupa

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1393

Category

Painting

Era

조선시대(1805년)

Designated year

2003

Location

용산구, 서울특별시— 서울특별시 용산구 서빙고로 137 (용산동6가, 국립중앙박물관)

Coordinates

37.538427, 126.965444

This is a painting made by Kim Hong-do (1745-1806/pen-name: Danwon) portraying the scene in a poem titled Chuseongbu (Sounds of Autumn) composed by Ou Yangxiu (1007-1072) of the Song Dynasty of China. The entire content of said poem is written on the painting in the painter’s hand. The information provided in the piece says that it was made in 1805 when the painter was 61 years old. He is said to have passed away in 1806. The right side of the canvas portrays an autumn mountain. The light and shade depicted in the background indicate that it is night. A scholar is seen sitting in a thatched Chinese house at the center through a large, round window. This scene portrays a line in said poem, which reads, “Only the moon and stars are shining brightly, sir. I can find no trace of a person. The noise is made by the swaying of tree branches”; this is the reply of an errand boy in response to his master’s instruction to check what was happening outside after the master hears some noise while reading a book in his room. The picture shows the errand boy pointing to the place where the noise was made by the wind. Two cranes raise their heads, honking as if they were frightened by the noise. Fallen leaves are here and there on the courtyard. The moon is in the sky. Overall, the piece depicts a dreary atmosphere of a fall night. The hills and mountains on the right and left look as if they are embracing the house. The piece shows the painter’s outstanding sense of composition. The thin trees and their irregularly forked twigs are also a scene that frequently appears in the painter’s pieces. In the painting, one can feel the sound of wind blowing through tree twigs under the cold moonlight on a fall night. Perhaps, that was the dreary feeling sensed by the poet and shared by the painter in their later years. The line “my mind is filled with a hundred worries,” expressed by the poet regarding the evanescence of life, was quoted by Kim Hong-do in his letter sent to a person identified only as Kim, showing how he felt at that time. At that time, he was suffering from poor health. Besides, he was concerned about the future of his only son, who was still young, and about his married daughter.

Location