Joseon Dynasty painting
- Gallery: Room 67
- Culture: Joseon Dynasty
- Made in: Korea
- Date: 16thC(early)
- Object type: painting, hanging scroll
- Materials: silk
- Museum number: 2001,1130,0.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a delicate yet grand landscape painting from the Joseon Dynasty in early 16th-century Korea. Created on silk, this hanging scroll uses ink and subtle color to evoke the timeless beauty of mountains and nature. The composition is detailed yet harmonious—notice the red pavilions in the upper left that stand out against the soft, layered hills.
This work reflects the artistic ideals of the time, drawing inspiration from the Chinese Northern Song tradition but adapted with a distinctly Korean sensibility. The style is thought to be influenced by An Kyon, one of Korea’s most original painters from the early Choson period.
You'll see the piece has a rich history—it was once part of a private collection in New York and acquired through Christie’s in 2001. While anonymous, it shares similarities with a set of four hanging scrolls also believed to be from this period, now in Japan.
See it in person
Joseon Dynasty painting is on display in Room 67 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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