문자와 그림 사이, 조선시대의 문자도

Abstract

This study aims to reflect on the ambivalence of the Korean Letter painting, better known as Munjado of Joseon Dynasty, a genre that is between the letter and the painting. In other words, by examining whether Munjado is closer to the letter or the painting, we have focused on the characteristics of Munjado as the letter that works like the image and the image that replaces the letter. To do this, while examining the evolution of the style of this genre, from its prototype to its posterior form, we paid attention to the change of its composition. That is, as the image escapes to the outline of the letter, it replaces part of letter. Then gradually, Munjado without letters is born. In the perspective of the relationship between text and image, with emphasis on the harmony between textual and pictorial elements, we have studied the links that the narrative ties with the letter and the pictorial elements. During this process, the text was replaced by the image, and the Munjado appears as a mythogram that depicts a myth related to the Confucian symbolic value. To conclude, we can see that Munjado is between the letter and the painting, and that it has an ambivalence. The rivalry between the letter and the painting corresponds to that between Confucianism and Buddhism, literate and profane, norm and creativity, propaganda and art. And it is this rivalry that brings the variation of the styles of the character painter, modifying the balance of this duality.