The painting competition was such an interesting episode, I’m glad the director didn’t speed it up or skimp on details. As for me, however, I’m pressed for time, so I’ll only focus on the judgment.
It was obvious as the judges walked towards CheongKi’s painting that it was a crowd-pleaser.
Judge2/Headmaster: Number 32 did very well. This painting has a different character and pose. It’s a refreshing composition and style. Pass.
Judge3/Female Judge: The Yeon merchants would clamor to purchase a painting like this. There’s nothing more to say. The flowers and moonlight are drawn almost poetically. I like it very much. Pass.
Judge1/Prince3’s advisor: The energy of the painting takes flight in the breeze, scatters in the flowers, and stops at the moon. It’s truly amazing. A great piece.
HaRam: (his assistant was busily scribbling on his palm)
Note: Judge #1 or the Head Judge critiqued on the painting but he didn’t declare it a Pass. This detail is important because in a little while, he’d be like Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmother rescuing the girl from the curse of death.
Note2: I’m using the subs from Kissasian site. But for the Prince3, I’ll use both Viki for comparison.
Here’s the Viki sub:
Prince3: (smirking) There is no question that this work enhances the flavor that empty space can impart, and that the brush techniques, as well as the control of light and dark, are magnificent. As your gaze moves with the flow, you find the full moon, and it looks as if the legends of the heavens could settle over the blossoms. It exudes marvelous energy. However! Plum blossoms do not boast their scent even in the coldest winters.
Here’s the Kissasian sub.
Prince3: (smirking) It’s a good use of blank space, and the strokes and contrast are truly exceptional. Your glance is led to reach the round moon, and on the plum flowers, a gift of heaven…is sprinkled which almost gives me the chills. However! Although the plum grows in the cold, it never sells its fragrance.
My three comments:
1. There’s a difference in subbing. I like the kissasian because it’s direct to the point. However! (lol. I’m copying the Prince) Because it was sparsely worded, I think it missed out on the foreshadowing the butterflies. He didn’t know when he said, “it looks as if the legends of the heavens could settle over the blossoms,” that the butterflies (or “legends of the heavens”) would actually settle on the blossom because the painting looked so real.
2. He was using metaphor to deliver a message to the forger. This is how I understood it:
plum = artist
cold = harsh living of an artist
fragrance = talent, gift
“The plum grows in the cold” is a reference to the difficult living circumstances of an artist. “Never sells its fragrance” means never betray the art. That is, do NOT forge masterpiece, commercialize artwork, paint what isn’t true and real, lose humility, boast that you’re greater than your art, etc.
In other words, Prince #3 was saying that despite the harsh exigencies or circumstances of an artist’s life, a true artist never compromises his art. He cannot be bought. He must be faithful and true to his art.
He believed that CheongKi did an unspeakable act of betrayal when she copied a grand master’s work, passed it off as her own, and even brazenly left her mark on it. Leaving her stamp on it actually made it 10x wrong because the very act signified that she saw nothing shameful, and didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about what she did.
Do you get it?
3. I thought Prince #3 was being fair here. In this specific moment. He didn’t want to “out” and publicly shame the forger so he delivered his warning as a metaphor that only he and the CheongKi could understand. But she forced his hand with a direct confrontation.
Ha Ram: (his sidekick whispers to him and he stops from sipping tea)
lol! How I wish I could lip-read!
Prince3: (continuing) I’d like the painter of this work to think of what I said. Fail.
Announcer: Six blue sticks! Four blue sticks! There are 33 blue sticks and one red stick.
Prince3: This work is a fail.
Note: the Kissasian sub was wrong here, interchanging the count for blue sticks for the red. There was only ONE red stick in favor of the painting. The decision to reject the painting was almost a unanimous. I bet the one Pass came from Ha Ram himself.
CG: Wait, Your Highness. I wish to ask you something.
Prince3: (recognizing her) Come forward.
Ha Ram: (his sidekick whispers to him again. He’s probably telling him that CG walked up the middle)
Note: Of the three people, HaRam, CheongKi, and Prince Yangmyeong, only the Prince was surprised to learn that CheongGi painted the artwork he’d just critiqued.
I think the assistant had been “live-recapping” (lol) the drama unfolding before his sightless eyes. HaRam looked worried.
CG: I’m Hong Cheong Gi from Baekyu Painters Society. You just said that my work is good, but you can’t give it a pass. I would like to know why that is.
Ha Ram: (smiles)
Ram’s reaction could be interpreted in many ways but I chose to think that he smiled because he knew that CheongGi wouldn’t accept the Prince3’s decision without a fight.
Prince3: All other painters accepted their results. Why did you come forward to doubt the judge’s opinion?
CG: I apologize sincerely for disrupting the event and posing a sudden question. But I’m not objecting to the opinions of learned experts. As you said, I have already failed.
Prince3: So then?
CG: My hope and the reputation of my society are already damaged. If I were to go home not knowing the reason why I failed, I might despair and decide never to paint again. So I dare ask. What ability do you think I lack?
Again, I’ve been using Kissasian subs but for the Prince Yangmyeong’s judgment, I’ll post the subs from Viki to get a comparison.
Here’s the Viki sub:
Prince3: Your painting has a unique composition, unlike any other plum blossom painting. This alone entices the viewer. You have enough skills. However, the sepals of all the plum blossoms in this painting are facing up, making them appear like apricot blossoms. And don’t you think these butterflies flying this busily at night betray the painter’s shallow motive to attract people’s interest? It’s the same as selling out the fragrance of plum blossoms symbolizing fidelity and integrity. You can ask ten times, but your painting is nevertheless a “fail” to me.
Here’s the Kissasian sub:
Prince3: Your painting has a structure that is unique and unlike any other. That alone is enough to seduce and bewilder. You have great skills (to infatuate someone). However, the plum tree you drew have flowers facing upward, so they look like apricot flowers. The butterflies all took flight, despite it being nighttime. Doesn’t that show the shallowness of the painter which only tries to win the interest of a buyer? That goes against fidelity and loyalty the plum represents, and it’s the same as selling out the tree’s fragrance. You can ask me ten times, but I would still fail your painting.
My three comments:
1. “Fidelity and integrity” symbolized by the plum = this ties in beautifully with his earlier comment that the plum tree never sells its fragrance although it grows in the cold.
The artist must be faithful and true to his art.
But this will have another meaning. I’ll show you in a bit.
2. “The butterflies…show the shallowness of the painter which only tries to win the interest of a buyer.”
Again, Prince #3 was speaking in metaphor because he meant his public message to be *privately* understood by CheongKi alone. He was protecting her, too.
To him, the butterfly reminded him of CheongKi’s brazen act. CheongKi was shallow because she sold her art and her gift, in making forgeries. Instead of painting purely for art’s sake, she was selling her gift for money.
3. Moreover, his words were actually damning when you think about it. Once he realized who the painter was — and what her sex was — his criticism now took on an different nuance. He began talking about attraction and seduction. She was skilled enough to beguile the unsuspecting viewers. Here, he was talking about himself!! To him, she was just like her paintings. Their beauty could seduce him.
He was subtly accusing her of “prostituting” her gift — and herself. Hence, his remark “The butterflies all took flight, despite it being nighttime.” This was an allusion to the “ladies of the night” or the ginseng who come out and entertain men at night.
He was implying that if a butterfly (i.e., CheongKi) had been a properly brought-up young lady, then she should know better than to mix with the crowd she was in. Her crowd was, after all, all male.
Remember I told you the “sepals” were part of the male anatomy of the flower. They were facing up, ready to greet the butterflies-of-the-night who were flitting from one blossom to another like ginseng flirting with their clients.
Do you get now why he was so upset about the butterflies?
They became representative of something not-so-pure-and-innocent. They went “against the fidelity and loyalty the plum represents, and it’s the same as selling out the tree’s fragrance.” When he mentioned “fidelity and loyalty,” he was no longer talking simply about art. He shifted to talking about the relationship between a man and a woman.
In short, he’d become disillusioned with CheongKi.
Judge4: So it was the butterfly that was the problem.
Judge3: What do you mean? Can’t you tell? The prince is being nitpicky.
lol. Of course, virtuous/innocent women (and men) like this female judge and CheongKi wouldn’t understand what Prince YangMyeong was referring to. They wouldn’t be able to grasp what “butterflies in the night” could signify other than its literal meaning.
But smart bitches like us got that. hahaha.
Judge4: There’s something about it. There’s something about that butterfly painting.
Obnoxious One: It was the butterfly.
Long-faced One: What? What about the butterfly? It looks just fine. It has wings and feelers. It has…
He remembered the mark that Chungki left, instead of a seal, because it was a forgery.
Prince2: That painter is the woman I saw at the dye house. The two of them…must definitely know each other.
Prince 2: She knows Yul?
Judge2/Headmaster: Your Highness, if you say a detailed painting that is almost lifelike is flawed by its excessive detail…(he was about to point out the irrationality of the Prince’s argument but he backed off)
Judge3: That is what I think…(she was about to agree with Judge 2 but backed off too)
Prince3: What do you think?
Judge4: The strokes have pent-up energy, and the branches are so stiff they might snap. This could mean the painter was too absorbed in her emotions that she failed to grasp the concept.
Judge3: (following Judge4) I also think the plum flowers are too simple, and they look outdated and ignorant.
Judge1: (sighing)
Prince3: Your further comments only proved even more why this painting is a fail.
CG: Your Highness. Are you failing my painting because the flowers face upward so they look like apricot flowers? You said you’d let the painters draw freely, so how could you say that?
Prince3: Are you talking back at me?
lol. He was repeating himself. He asked the same question while at the tea house.
CG: I apologize.
Prince3: Whatever you say, to me, this painting looks like you tried to show off using a unique layout, but then failed to grasp the basic concept. (looking away)
Long-faced One: (grumbling) He figured out she’s the forger.
Painter1: (siding with CG) In my painting, the butterfly took flight under the moon, too. So why…
lol. He didn’t get that the Prince3 was talking about a different sort of butterfly flying in the night. Prince3 didn’t have issues with ANY of the butterflies drawn in the moonlight drawn by the MALE painters. Prince3 only took issue with CheongKi’s painting because CheongKi was female whom he was attracted to. He interpreted the butterflies as visual symbols of flirtatious and seductive young women.
I say, Prince Yangmyeong was triggered by butterflies.
Buddhist Painter: (being philosophical/irrelevant) Now, now. Everything in the world stems from issues of the heart. Do not blame others.
Bravo! The Buddhist Painter got it He sensed that there was something more going on between the Prince3 and the female painter than the general public knew. He sensed something romantic going on. It was an “affair of the heart.”
Hat Painter: Those who are meant to pass will pass, and those meant to fail will fail.
He was being fatalistic.
Ha Ram: (his assistant scribbles frantically on his palm)
CG: I see. I finally get what it means to host a contest in Maejukheon.
Prince3: (misunderstanding her) Then it’s done.
CG: You said that we compete as equals, regardless of our rank or status, that this contest is only about skill. However, that’s all just for show. (staring at Prince3) Everything’s about your taste and thoughts. I get that now.
Prince3: (tenses up)
Crowd: What a brazen thing. We cannot let people like her paint at all.
Ha Ram: (smiles)
Prince2: What an insolent girl she is.
CG: I was impudent. I will leave now.
She turned to go.
Judge1: Wait. Your Highness, I think the reason none of the flowers face downward is because the painter thought of Du Hyang’s poem of the drooping plum that grows downward by the water. Also, the upward flowers that you say make you think of apricot flowers is because the painter was true to what she saw, and she painted exactly what she felt.
Ha Ram: (smiles. he knew it was a good save)
This was where Prince3 recovered from his temporary madness. Judge1 vouched for CheongKi’s “faithful and integrity.” He argued that there was nothing sinister or perverse about the painting. It was just a simple painting made with delicate brushstrokes expressing the artist’s sincerity.
Prince3 and his Judge1/advisor were communicating telepathically. lol.
Prince3: Why are you doing this?
Judge1: Your Highness. She’s a divine painter.
This dialogue didn’t occur in real time, of course. It’s the Director way of showing that the Prince3 questioned his advisor’s actions but decided to yield, and Judge1, his advisor, could tell Prince3 doubted his actions so he reassured him to trust him on this one.
Then, the butterflies landed on the branches of the plum tree. This meant that her painting was so realistic that butterflies were deceived into believing the branches were real. Everybody was astounded.
Prince2: Does her painting have some kind of power?
Prince2 minion: This is so very strange.
Judge1 knew that this was proof that she was the divine painter. In a flashback, he was warned by the headmaster that daughter of Hong EunOh might joined the competition. The headmaster stopped her from applying, but just in case, she showed up they should stop her from winning. They must fail her. I think the headmaster had Cheongki’s best interests at heart. He didn’t want the same misfortune that happened to her father to happen again to Chungki.
Judge1 however was too shocked to discover that EunOh had a daughter. All he could think of was that they found a descendant of a divine painter who previously painted the portrait. CheongKi could be tasked to do the painting again.
Judge1: I will use my free pass stick.
Prince3: You got a free pass stick. There is no need for a reason. Pass.
My comment:
Just to recap, the butterfly had different meanings in this scene:
a. CheongKi’s sign or stamp
b. Prince3’s disapproval of Cheongki’s forgery
c. Prince3’s disapproval/disillusion with Cheongki (he was triggered!)
d. Prince2’s suspicion that Cheongki was not just an insignificant person
e. sign of favor from the gods
Wait till they find out that the butterfly is also a talisman to ward off Mawang.
Gotta fly. Will edit later.
Kalispera @Packmule3!
I really enjoyed your analysis! Mostly because at one point I realized that the 3rd Prince was being hard on CG because of her gender.
At first as you pointed out he was telling her about the imitation, but then he was nitpicking because she was a woman.
I really enjoyed that CG answered to that one. She was not equal to men and she said so to his Royal face! Even the 2nd Prince commented: “What a bold woman!”
Unfortunately for her, she didn’t realize that the 3rd Prince got her for that imitation piece, the Obnoxious one did her a favor, when he told her that one, but she didn’t seem to…appreciate it.
Still, I want to find out how the painting competition went.I think uri Cheon Gi has many chances to win. Let us see what Episode 6 will bring us!
N A V I L L E R A!!!
@packmule3, For somebody who is busy, you certainly didn’t skimp on content. Many thanks. This is another drama that has so much more than surface value and one of the reasons that I have become hooked on it.
You learn a lot about a culture from its mythology. Thank you for guiding us through it. You provide us with an enrichment course.
I also ove the fact that K Dramas give us music, literature and art appreciation in understandable doses. I’ve learned more from them than from some college courses. And the historical give an entirely new perspective on this.
And also @packmule3, thank you for showing where we’re lost in translation. You have helped us to get the real gist of the program.
Thanks @packmule3 🍪🍪🍪. That’s one of the reasons why I can’t dislike Prince3. He was trying to teach her a moral lesson. He was outraged at her audacity not just to forge a masterpiece but to imprint her own signature mark on it (hidden) which was sacrilegious to a purist like him 😂. But in the end he was fair. Rules are rules. Judge1 used his free pass for CG so he let her through. Now that she’s been exposed (only to himself- and possibly Judge1 – wasn’t he there with Prince3 when they discovered the forgery? I know someone else was but I forget who) and taught a lesson, it will be interesting to see if he carries the slight through to the next rounds when it comes to his prejudice against her.
Oh, to have been a fly on the office wall of this show’s art director! Was the beautiful artwork we see created to order, or sought out ready-made and purchased? A variety of skills had to be implied by the finished work, so making/finding bad as well as good may have been fun for the staff. And how about the casting call for hand actors to paint skilled brush strokes? I’m in awe of all the talent behind the scenes that makes this drama about painters believable.
Yes, Judge1 was there when they discovered the forgery. But I’m not worried about him for now.
More worried about that storekeeper. He hired CheongGi so he could spill the beans and ruin reputation of the painting competition’s stakeholders.
I’ve enjoyed all your comments on this drama so far. (I was looking for a current drama I could watch without binging since I sometimes have a problem divvying out my k-drama viewing, and this one fit the bill–plus it’s an historical, which I’m always drawn to.)
I think both times that CheongGi touched Ha Ram and Ma Wang emerged, they were outside the palace walls (under the protection of the mountain spirit)–? So I wonder if they could touch one another in a more protected area without MW being activated? Sam Shin said that HR would be HCG’s destined partner, but that’s hard to imagine if she literally stirs up a demon/god in him with her touch!
Also, when Sam Shin spoke to the newborn HCG, she said he would be a destined partner “who can help you avoid the curse.” Was she speaking of the curse of blindness, or eventual insanity (like her father), or perhaps even Ma Wang itself, devouring her?
@packmule3 yeah I am not worried about Judge1. He has a benevolent face 😂. Like you mentioned, I think Headmaster was trying to protect CG from the fate of her father. Why else would her heavily pregnant mother head to the woods to pray? She must’ve been worried about the fate of her husband tasked by the King to paint his portrait (if he failed in his task, he probably wouldn’t have come out alive). Headmaster may have been privy to these details. He (and the other lady) raised her out of the goodness of their hearts. And look at this face
https://i.ibb.co/x15Nqh2/42-AA4-AC9-8-E81-448-B-9850-66-EB7-A710-DE3.jpg
“Your looks always remind me of an entrancing painting”
“He’s very dignified and even beautiful”
“He really doesn’t seem human”
These attributes would suit CEW better. 😂
@BethB There we’re 3 curses rained down by MW that night. The one that applied to the Hong family was their gift of painting. CG’s blindness and her father’s insanity was a consequence. If she can’t see, she can’t paint. If her father was insane, he couldn’t paint either. That’s how I interpreted it. So when they were “rebirthed” in the water together. CG avoided the curse because she gained her sight (MW’s eyes). And she was then free to paint again.
Well, Prince figuring out the meaning behind the butterflies on the horse-themed painting was the highlight of Episode 6 and this drama so far. Fantastic moment, true goosebumps. I’m enjoying painting contest and painting-talk like crazy and that’s a high praise cause I can’t even draw and know only about 4-5 famous paintings by their name. But this drama is the best ever. ♥ Well, so far, fingers crossed they don’t screw up in the next 10 episodes.
I found it a bit confusing that CK’s father saw Ma Wang in Grand Prince Juhyang and not in Ha Ram, but the butterfly mark on the nape of Ha Ram’s neck must again be keeping Ma Wang in check. That Hong Eun-O saw flashes of Ma Wang when he looked at Prince #2 suggests some of Ma Wang’s essence remained in Prince #2 along with the abdominal wounds that won’t heal. It may be like in Lord of the Rings, how the One Ring permanently affects whoever carries it, even if for a short time. (I’m looking at you, Samwise Gamgee.) It is ironic that Hong Eun-O desperately warned Ha Ram and acted to protect him by throwing the paint brush at Prince #2 when Ha Ram is the person in whom Ma Wang is trapped.
@Packmule3, when the butterflies flitted through the air and eventually landed on two flowers in CK’s painting, I interpreted it as divine intervention by Samshin, particularly since the butterflies landed on flowers whose realism had been debated. It was as if Samshin sent a couple of representatives in answer to Prince #3’s harsh criticism: a reminder to judge the painting by its merits, not by assumptions about the artist’s integrity.
Dear @Welmaris,
Kalimera. I am on the go so I will keep it quick and I will return later for more.
The reason Eun-O “saw” Ma Wang in the 2nd Prince is because the 2nd Prince asked for MaWang to come to him. Hence the mark he has from the Devil King.
On the contrary, HaRam has a dormant MaWang inside of him, but he didn’t ask for it. He was placed there by SamShin.
MaWang interferes with HaRam when CheonGi is around and have physical interactions like the kiss or touch, BUT
HaRam hasn’t succumbed to MaWang’s spell that’s why he was shouting “Surrender to me!”
I wanted to also add:
It’s a combination of Free Will and Choice.
The 2nd Prince’s choice was to host MaWang. Whereas in HaRam’s case, that is not the matter. He didn’t give his consent to SamShin. He became a vehicle to her grand plan to get rid of MaWang.
The 2nd Prince is tainted not only by MaWang’s mark, but from his insatiable hunger for the throne since he was a teen. He is evil to his core.
That is hige difference, hence the warning EunO gave to HaRam.
I looked back to episode 1, when Ha Ram was being brought to the palace and passed through the town. Eun-O perceived Ma Wang then. He said to CK, “Don’t look him in the eye. Never look him in the eye. I sense the demon’s energy.” At this point Ha-ram’s father elbowed Eun-O and we see some sort of supernatural force in the motion. The 2nd prince wasn’t present, but Ha-ram was and the lady shaman as well.
With Eun O’s second perception of Ma Wang’s presence, Eun-O seems to look at Ha Ram, but sees Ma Wang when he looks at the 2nd Prince. He must have mistaken Ha Ram as his father because he cries, “Lord Ha Seong Jin! You must run, my Lord! I must stop Ma Wang. Do not look him in the eyes.”
It didn’t make sense to me why Eun O was allowed into the pavilion – perhaps security was lax at the end of the contest? Also, why did he grab a brush and fill it with black paint – I wonder what his intention was when he did that? I don’t think he was anticipating having a vision? It was a very accurate throw; I hope that the brush painting the 2nd prince black was divine intervention.
As an aside, I was looking at the footwear of the finalists in the competition. Annoying One, the Scholar and Sim with the straw hat all wore nice shoes. The Monk, Long Face and CK wore straw sandals. At least the sandals fit her now. In episode 1, she seemed to be wearing adult sandals that didn’t fit her feet.
Dear @Fern,
In a way, History is repeating itself, but with changes this time.
So, we have mirror scenes with Episode 1 and this will continue..
I believe the Eun-O since saw MaWang’s eyes and got the curse is like a MaWang-stick so to speak. I didn’t understand either how he entered over there, but I agree with you that security was lax, since is the only thing that makes sense.
Another believable explanation is that the Goblin made him go over there, as the Goblin freed Cheon Gi in order to participate into the painting competition.
Thank you, @Cleopatra. I have a lot of questions with this drama. Another is about the Goblin. According to the rumours, he seemed to be competing with the straw hat artist, or perhaps competing in order to train him to excel. Yet Straw Hat didn’t win. I guess this is another mystery that will be revealed.
Slightly off topic: Regarding the painting. It seemed that most painters had something wrapped around their right (brush holding) hand. I wonder why. Is it to protect the paper? Also, how difficult it must be to paint on a horizontal surface when you are wearing wide sleeves? I wonder why they didn’t tie the sleeves or wear something with a shortened sleeve? The sheep hair brush. It’s not like sheep hair around here, which is fleece, but rather very straight hairs. What was the significance of it not being fixed? Does that give the painter more flexibility, make it more difficult to handle or both? Perhaps some BOD painters could explain some of this. I have seen icon painters use a crossed rolling sticks to steady and keep their hand above the paper or canvas. I thought it was ingenious!
@Fern,
I am enjoying this myself. If you have any other questions shoot them, and If I have an idea I will respond to you.
The thing is as @Welmaris or @Packmule3 pointed somewhere above, the man that became the Goblin 20 years ago, was with Eun-O and when MaWang was freed from the previous King, then the green light / aura of the Goblin appeared to that man, and then he run away!
So, plotwise this is a questionmark. We don’t have any clues who is he, why did he appear back then and who is going to stand up with
Regarding your off topic question:
The thing is that I haven’t studied History of Art for the Asian culture, so I cannot tell you exactly what is that. I haven’t encountered it before.
My guess is: It has to do with what being said that a fine painter uses the brush in a single stroke. They think that calligraphy was a must, in order to be a great painter. That’s why they praised the 3rd Prince for writing the first verse!
The only painter I know that he was drawing on a horizontal surface is one of the best abstract expressionists: Jackson Pollock.
Icon painters use another technique altogether. Especially the Orthodox ones.
Your comment tickled a memory, so I will return on that one. I have to check first on my art textbooks about Byzantine iconography.
@nrllee Agreed, those attributes are totally CEW!I’m surprised that they didn’t cast a good looking actor. Bushy Brows with his oily skin doesn’t cut it. Oh, and I wished that dramas stopped feeding the audience what they should think of ML or FL with those ridiculous swooning scenes. Every drama has them as if they aren’t sure whether the audience would like FL or ML.
My theory of how Steppenwolf/Ma Wang works:
I think that a touch between Hongx3 and HaRam either allows Ma Wang to see or he senses that she has “his” eyes. So HaRam gets the hilarious seizure and even turns into Jack Sparrow when Ma Wang tries to get out and take the eyes. I also think that he loses the butterfly protection because HaRam and Hongx3 are like one so she neutralizes the protection.
I also think that, since 2 Princes went to see the painting, the future King is Yul not his Hyung-nim. But Ma Wang managed to enchant Hyung-nim because he always wanted power so he now thinks he’s the one.
Off topic, @Cleopatra, yes the icon painters seem to have an entirely different philosophy from the Koreans, as well as materials and style. I have only seen the painting being done in front of me twice. That there are strict traditions and rules for each links the two genres.
I have learned so much from the critiques at the painting competition and am very curious. The litterati paintings mentioned – it seems it’s scholarly painting first seen in China and then adapted and changed by the Koreans, but I can find very little information about it.
@anon your comments about AHS are funny! 😂Personally I think he is beautiful. I like this actor from Dr. Romantic 2 and Still 17 so am inclined to think he is doing fine in a difficult role. These last two episodes were my favorite by far. I hope we see more painting scenes – and that they continue to describe the craftsmanship of painting. The second prince is really good at playing sinister/ambitious – I watched a BTS with him and watching him go from laughing and light IRL to his character in this drama was impressive.
@Fern,
Kalimera!
Off Topic:
I will leave here for you the link of the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens. I have been there and there are several icon paintings from different eras. You can see different “Schools”, hence techniques, in different places.
https://www.byzantinemuseum.gr/en/
I have been to a museum with a Japanese collection once. It was a temporary exhibition. It was rather interesting. If I ever go to Korea, I would like to visit their Museums.
Kalimera, @Cleopatra. Thank you very much for the link. I, too, hope to go to an art museum in Asia, and I would like to understand more before I go. Study first, see later to appreciate better for me.
@Fern,
My pleasure! Same over here. I would like to study first, then see later to appreciate better…
I would very much like to visit the Byzantine and Christian museum from your link. Many thanks for the inspiration.
@Fern,
If you ever come and visit and want some company with you, you can tell me!
I will, thank you!
Thank you @Packmule for this beautiful analysis. I’m meaning to start watching this drama and reading the discussion abt it is really illuminating.
When it comes to sageuk depicting art I also liked Painter of the wind from 2008. It’s based on a novel and depicts the life of two famous Korean painters Shin Yun Bok and Kim Hong Do (the twins from HP were named after? them) and the premise is that Shin Yun Bok was a woman in disguise. (The novel was also made into a film with the title Portrait of a Beauty but I liked the drama much more. There are big differences in character depiction between the drama and the film but I haven’t read the novel so I can’t say which one is more faithful). I see that the drama is available on Viki but not in my region.
Anyhow I only wanted to add to @Fern’s and @Cleo’s discussion about visiting museums and say that the Painter of the wind made me fall in love with Shin Yun Bok’s art and I wished to see the actual paintings while being in Korea. I couldn’t make it during my fist trip there but during my second visit there was an exibition of Shin Yun Bok’s paintings at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza so I can consider myself lucky. The experience of seeing the real paintings was out of this world.