조선중･후기 虎圖의 유형과 도상-기년작을 중심으로

Abstract

Tiger painting is the painting that was widely drawn as the theme of Youngmohwa (翎毛畵; the Bird-and-Animal Painting) and folk painting in the latter period of Joseon. The tiger is the object of fear and also the mystical creature driving away evil spirits. It is also well-known as the main character of countless folktales and fables. The tiger paintings drawn in Joseon with various symbols and metaphors were drawn in diverse strata as divided into the patterns of professional painters in government employ and folk paintings. In terms of time, professional painters in government employ’s tiger paintings were mainly drawn in the 18th century, and many of the folk tiger paintings were designed in the 19th century. While dealing with the tiger paintings whose period of creation is known, this article tried to focus on the characteristics of tiger paintings in the patterns of professional painters in government employ during the 18th century and also the process of their changes. And as the images to complement the material blank before the 17th century, this paper examined the tiger and leopard images in the 15th- and 17th-century embroidered insignia and also the tiger paintings in the paintings of “the four directional animals (四獸)” developed during the 17th till the 19th century. Of course, the tradition of general tiger paintings is closely related with folk tiger paintings, so it is helpful for more concrete and broader discussion on the patterns of tiger paintings. About the tigers in the patterns of professional painters in government employ, there has been research that suggests the standards centering around Kim Heung Do and some of the professional painters in government employ. However, as the transmission of the patterns of ‘Chulsan Tiger Painting (出山虎圖)’ was recently discovered and related imaged were introduced, we can deal with the systems of tiger paintings that professional painters in government employ left more precisely. The research on tiger paintings in the patterns of professional painters in government employ should be conducted in advance in order to examine the folk tiger paintings. After discussing the matters of influence among patterns, context, causality, and chronological recording with the category of tiger paintings in the patterns of professional painters in government employ, we should extend this to the area of folk painting for further consideration, and this should be the tasks of art history in the area of tiger painting. First, the chief content dealt with in this paper is to find the images that combine the tiger with the patterns of the leopard in the embroidered insignia of Gongsinhwasang (功臣畵像) in the 15th till the 17th century. This study examined the phenomenon of how this was applied to the folk painting tigers until the end of Joseon. When they expressed the tiger and leopard as an animal, the typical form adopted was not the tiger but the image that it was combined with the leopard. Also, we can see the general recognition of the time that they identified the leopard and the tiger as beings that live helping each other. Second, this study examined how tiger paintings changed from the mid-17th till the 19th century with the white tigers in the paintings of “the four directional animals” of Sanreungdogamuigue (山陵都監儀軌). The white tigers in the paintings of “the four directional animals” are the materials we can refer to in order to figure out the types and flow of tiger paintings from the 17th till the 19th century. Yet, the paintings before 1630 cannot be investigated because the uigue has not been transmitted. However, we can focus on the fact that white tigers did develop in association with the patterns of general tiger paintings and the influence. Of course, white tigers are specific in that they cannot be converted directly with the general patterns of professional painters in government employ; however, this study focused on what new implications the tiger paintings in the paintings of “the four directional animals” do provide for the previous research on tiger paintings. It is meaningful that the four forms of white tigers shown in Sanreungdogamuigu are the criteria to examine and compare the changes of tiger painting in the same period by steps. Third, this paper summarized the painting patterns of professional painters in government employ reflecting the influence of ‘Chulsan Tiger Painting’ in the 18th century of the Ming Dynasty by steps. There has been no advanced research that considers the tiger paintings in the patterns of professional painters in government employ created in the 18th century and the early 19th century in association with ‘Chulsan Tiger Painting’ yet. The images of ‘Chulsan Tiger Painting’ during the Ming Dynasty were the clue to examine it in connection with this. In terms of the images of ‘Chulsan Tiger Painting’ in the Ming Dynasty, professional painters in government employ established Korean-styled patterns passing through the 18th century. And after the 19th century, folk painters popularized it as the genre of folk painting based on that. Like this, Korean-styled alternation and popularization can be said to be the crucial significance and fruition of painting history that tiger paintings did exhibit. The approaches of tiger paintings in the middle and late period of Joseon are significant in that they are not just limited to the interest in Youngmohwa but explore representative painting patterns converting to Korean-styled aesthetics and popular preferences.