Presenter:

Katharina Süberkrüb (Doctoral candidate, Korean Studies, Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg, Germany)

Abstract: 

Many of the export paintings from Joseon’s Open Ports Period (1876-1910) are known to have been either painted by [Gisan] Kim Jun-geun or produced in his workshop. These works today are scattered around European museums and other institutions. Diplomats, merchants, and collectors who visited Joseon scrambled to buy genre paintings, with Joseon folkways as their theme, and the works were whisked away to Europe. The export paintings served as “diplomatic articles,” facilitating a way to inform outsiders about Korean customs and culture. This lecture compares individual works as well as different collections of export paintings and their provenances. For this, it introduces a new digital approach to study Korean export paintings. Furthermore, it explores transcultural influences on the image of Korean culture in Europe.