Abstract
Donggwoldo, or "Painting of Eastern Palaces," is a late Joseon documentary painting of Changdeokgung Palace, its rear garden Huwon, and Changgyeonggung Palace. It falls under the category of 19th century map paintings. In Donggwoldo, a contemplative mode of depiction based on parallel projection is used to create a multi-perspective spatial structure; however, the focus is less on achieving a unified mode of depiction and more on adhering to the tradition of Joseon paintings that used artistic techniques selectively to fulfill specific purposes. In contrast to their actual layout, the buildings of the palaces followed a strict order of arrangement and positioning based on the traditional principles of architectural composition. While various sections of the palace are accurately partitioned and clearly reflect hierarchy, they are also individually magnified or scaled down to restructure the buildings into near-ideal forms of palatial architecture. This conceptual interference makes Donggwoldo transcend its practical function of documentation, and suggests that the aim was less on creating an accurate depiction of the actual palaces, but rather on effectively reflecting the architectural ideology behind their creation. Keywords: Donggwoldo; Painting of Eastern Palaces; Visual Representation; Parallelism; Reverse Perspective 1. Introduction The premise of this study is that a painting's mode of 1.1 Objectives and Significance graphic representation reflects the era's intellectual An architectural painting is not a mere visual paradigm formed by its socio-cultural background; representation, but one that manifests the socio-cultural thereby, this study seeks to analyze the 19th century mechanisms of the era in which it was made. Modes documentary painting Donggwol do in order to of architectural depiction undergo continuous change understand the late Joseon depiction of architectural and development, and the question of "how to depict forms using parallel projection and architectural a subject" is key to understanding the architectural ideology. philosophy of an era. (Lee and Jung, 2000; Jo, 2004) 1.2 Methodology In traditional East Asian art, it was more important that Chapter 2 examines the nature and graphic projection a subject be represented with ideological correctness, modes of jiehwa , which primarily depicts buildings rather than depicted with visual accuracy, which had or cityscapes, and defines oblique parallel projection never been the first priority. in relation to other projection modes. Chapter 3 State-led projects to compile national maps or contemplates the significance of Donggwoldo by geographic records peaked under the kings Yeongjo examining its characteristics as a painting and and Jeongjo in the 18th century. Beginning in the 19th comparing them to those of contemporary paintings. century, state-compiled maps or geographic records Chapter 4 employs an iconographical analysis of spread to the public through copies hand-scribed by Donggwoldo to examine how factual and ideological individuals, and palaces and cities were frequently elements interact within a documentary painting. drawn onto large-scale folding screens or folding sheets. The best known of such paintings include 2. Graphic Projection Mode of Late-Joseon Jiehwa Donggwoldo, Gyeonggi-gamyeong-do (Painting of the Documentary Paintings Gyeonggi Provincial Government) and Pyeongyang- Architectural paintings using distinct modes of do (Painting of Pyeongyang City). (Han et al., 1999). graphic representation were either palace paintings or walled-city paintings, whose main purpose was to record the layout of buildings or a city. They also included documentary paintings of royal ceremonies *Contact Author: Ho-Jeong Kim, Associate Professor, that had to be expressed in detail, and thus the Department of Architecture, Dankook University, architectural forms were included to serve as part of Jukjeong-dong, Suji-gu, Yongin, 448-701, Republic of Korea the background. Regardless of the subject, most jiehwa Tel: +82-31-8005-3710 Fax: +82-31-8005-3723 were painted using one of three modes of graphic E-mail: hojeong_kim@dankook.ac.kr projection: (1) orthographic with omnidirectional ( Received April 12, 2013 ; accepted February 26, 2014 ) Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/May 2014/270 263 façades, (2) cavalier with seen in Myeongjongjo- upright façades, and (3) gungjung-s ungbul- oblique parallel. The first, do (Fig.3., Painting orthographic projection of a Buddhist Ritual with omnidirectional Held at the Royal fa ç a de s, re fe rs t o a Court unde r Ki ng straight-down view of the Myeongjong), oblique buildings, as in traditional parallel projections map paintings, but with result in a bird's-eye the façades visible by view unfolding in a tilting them in whichever panorama, in a manner d i r e c t i o n t h e y h a p p e n similar to landscape Fig.3. A Partial View of to be standing against. paintings, and it is Myeongjongjogungjungsungbuldo As in Inpyeongdaegun- thus appropriate for bang-jeondo (Fig.1., creating balanced representations of relatively wide Complete Map of the spaces. These different projection modes were all Residence of Grand Prince used in creating jiehwa until the late 19th century. Inpyeong), this projection There were also many instances of different modes mode enables a relatively used for different scenes within a single album or balanced depiction of the folding screen, of which the most representative is subject, but the direction the Suwonneung-haeng-dobyeong (Paintings of King in which a façade reclines Jeongjo on His Way to His Father's Tomb in Suwon). depends on its relationship Unfettered by the need to achieve unity in form, wi t h t h e sur ro un di n g late Joseon documentary paintings generally used Fig.1. A Partial View of c onst ruc t i ons a nd multiple projection modes rather than a single mode Inpyeongdaegunbangjeondo pathways. (Song, 2002) for a single scene, adopting the most efficient graphic The second, cavalier projection with upright façade representation mode that best fit the subject and refers to the schematic arrangement of architectural purpose of the painting. forms from a bird's-eye perspective with the façades rendered flat and upright. This projection mode was 3. Overview of Donggwoldo as Painting mostly used in detailed documentary paintings of Donggwol do (Fi g.5.) is a sixt e en-pa ne l ceremonies. The surrounding walls of the architecture painting of the two Eastern Palaces of Joseon — create rectangular frames Changdeokgung, including its rear garden Huwon, within which the ceremony can and Changgyeonggung—drawn on silk. It is presumed be depicted in detail, and the to have been produced by a royal court painter from façade of the main building is Dohwaseo (Office of Paintings) starting sometime rendered flat to emphasize its between 1824 and 1827 and completed before 1830. hierarchical significance. (Lee, (Ahn et al., 2005) It exemplifies the height of 19th 2008) An example is Jinyeon- century documentary paintings in its execution, well bancha-do (Fig.2., Painting expresses the tradition of cartographic paintings, and is of the Seating Arrangement valuable as an historical source. This section discusses at a Royal Banquet), in which the characteristics and the significance of Donggwoldo the entire ceremony is seen as a painting. from a bird's-eye view; closer 3.1 Oblique Parallel Projection with Effects of examination reveals that Scattered-point Perspective different parts of the image are Donggwoldo uses parallelogrammatic composition in fact depicted from their own with scattered-point perspective, which is a graphic different perspectives. Also, the representation mode used in Eastern landscape tent poles, the stone porch, the paintings. As seen in Inwangsan-do (Fig.4., Painting courtyard and other components of Mt. Inwang), this are exaggerated vertically in mode of composition order to make room to better i s a p p r o p r i a t e Fig.2. Jinyeonbanchado depict the ceremony. for depicting the The third, oblique parallel projection, renders the subject in detail with architectural forms as parallelograms expressing uniform perspective. their dimensions along the line of sight. The façades In parallel projection, of the architectural forms are again rendered flat and there is no vanishing Fig.4. Inwangsan-do, Hui-eon Gang upright, but the sides are set at an oblique angle. As point; rather the 264 JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim Fig.5. Donggwoldo subjects are rendered so that their sides are parallel, on 3.2 Application of the Reverse Perspective the premise that there is no central axis on which the In reverse perspective, objects are depicted from line of sight converges, and that the image is seen with a bird's-eye view in which the further away they moving eye. In paintings based on oblique parallel are, the larger they are drawn. The vanishing points projection, there is not only one central subject but are placed in front of the painting, as opposed to a usually several of varying sizes that are positioned at linear perspective, which places the vanishing points somewhere behind it. The realistic effects of reverse intervals throughout the painting. The traditional scattered-point perspective is what perspective is that, because our eyes intuitively register enables the flexibility of composition found in Eastern the focal point of an image with the greatest precision, landscape paintings. if the areas that are farthest from that point are the most O ne example is magnified, this effectively counterbalances the lack Donggyeong-sansu of attention for that area, allowing us to view all areas ( Fi g . 6 . , W i n t e r with equal attentiveness. Reverse perspective allows landscape), in which faraway objects to be magnified and thus expressed in objects in both the greater detail. The magnified human figures appear as foreground and if they are right next to us, and our eyes are directed ba c kground a re to the place the human figures are facing toward, Fig.6. Donggyung-sansu, depicted as relatively effectively making the viewer pay attention to the SeonJeong equal in size, thus details of that area. giving each object its own presence. The scattered- As seen in Seowonajib-do point perspective creates multiple perspectives within (Fig.7., Gathering of Xiyuan), one image, designed so that a viewer can move in the adoption of reverse front of the image and observe it at a fairly close range perspective is conspicuous without distorting the perspective. Because the viewer's in the depiction of tables, eyes are not fixed upon a single point, the artist can raised wooden floors, express a variety of subjects on a single surface, giving a nd fe nc e s. In t he vi sua l each one its own separate domain, and also freely representation of architectural control the vertical and horizontal lengths, supplement forms, the application of the real with the ideal, and diversify the expression of reverse perspective makes density or scarcity if it seems necessary. (Jin, 1995) In it appropriate—as open-air Donggwoldo, the palaces are viewed from an oblique spaces framed by walls grow Fig.7. A Partial View of overhead angle, and multiple perspectives are created in size the further they are Seowonajib-do, by each part of the overall composition. This effect is from the viewer—to depict in Hong-do Kim more conspicuous when examining Donggwoldo up detail the human figures within close rather than from afar, as is the use of scattered- those spaces. Such a perspective can reveal a greater point perspective, which results in different parts of the number of surfaces of the subjects in comparison to the Western linear perspective, and because the edges and painting having their own perspectives. JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim 265 corners of the subjects are emphasized, the contours them grow larger in size towards the back; thereby, of the roofs and areas framed within post-and-lintel the artificial and natural components are shown to structures are also systematically revealed. be governed by conflicting powers. Each building is The use of reverse perspective in Donggwoldo expressed as having three dimensions, due to the mode emphasizes the flat depiction of the façades of south- of parallel projection, while the trees are rendered in facing buildings and distinguishes the main royal the style of the Southern School of Chinese painting, buildings within the rectangular courtyards from its making them appear rather flat and simultaneously surroundings. The trapezoidal depiction of buildings larger than the buildings, thus lacking a sense of due to the reverse perspective is also applied to the realism. barren sites of old buildings, as evidenced by the rows 3.4 Use of the Five Directional Colors of remaining cornerstones and stone porches that Donggwol do use s a n ideologic al pa let te spread wider towards the background. Donggwoldo characteristic of palace paintings, rather than one that was painted onto a folding sheet, which makes the matches the actual colors of the subject. The true-view focus created by reverse perspective more conspicuous: landscape paintings that were prevalent at the time when the sheet is unfolded, the two eastern palaces tried to capture the true colors of the subject, but this can be observed in their entirety; when folded, the trend is not visible in Donggwoldo. The buildings were limited view of a single scene allows one to appreciate rendered in a simpler color scheme, with the dancheong the details and execution. Most of the sixteen scenes (Traditional multi-colored paintwork) decorations emphasize through reverse perspective a courtyard uniformly green, the pillars and gates reddish brown, framed by cloistered corridors or walls, and at the top the brick walls peach, the insignia blue, and the roof of the courtyard is a royal building that is the focus of tiles that were in fact blue were rendered green. In that scene. particular, because the blue tiles were only used for the 3.3 Expression of the Landscape roofs of buildings that were of superior rank, it can be Towa rd t he l a t e inferred that the blue tiles were made green because Joseon period, with green is defined traditionally as an intermediate the popularity of color between the center and east. (Lee and Jung, true-view landscape 2000) As such, the color scheme of Donggwoldo paintings, even jiehwa can be said to reflect the perception and ideology of increasingly began to an overall classification system and to make full use depict landscape along of all five directional colors that are valued in East with architecture; Asian cultures. In addition, the main royal buildings this trend is reflected and the connecting cloistered corridors and open-air i n Okhojeong-do wooden porches are yellow because, in the concept of (Fi g.8., Pa i nt i ng the five directional colors, yellow signifies the center Fig.8. Okhojeong-do of Okho Pavilion) , and thus expresses the hierarchical significance of Donggwoldo, and Kyunggi-gamyoung-do just to name those structures. There a few. Depicting architecture within its surrounding are other instances of landscape allows one to express the geographical jiehwa that use color to characteristics of the area and express the overall express an ideal such composition as naturally as possible. as Ganghwabu-jeondo In Donggwoldo, the buildings and nature show (Fig.9., Complete Map a marked difference as components of the palaces. of Ganghwado Island) Even though the actual palaces sit on hilly terrain, it and Myeongjongjo- is hard to understand the topography in detail from gungjung-sungbul -do. the painting. One could perhaps postulate from the (Fig.3.) Fig.9. Ganghwabu-jeondo stonework and stairs next to the walls that the terrain is elevated, but the landscape is rendered in such an 4. Visual Representation and Philosophy of extremely ideological manner that it serves as a poor Architecture in Donggwoldo reference to the two palaces' in fact pragmatic use Visual representations of architectural forms reflect of the natural landscape. The trees within the palace the principles, norms and philosophy behind their grounds flow in a linear fashion, serving as a main architectural composition, and likewise depictions of component that marks the separation between the two palaces such as Donggwoldo provide considerable palaces; in contrast to how in reality nature dominates insight into their underlying philosophy of architecture. architecture, the strong artificial force of the palace The two Eastern Palaces (Donggwol) of the Joseon arrangement dominates the painting. In particular, the Dynasty—Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung— landscape is affected by the law of linear perspective are considered to have been constructed on a perfect and grows smaller in scale towards the back, while human scale in a unique spatial arrangement that reverse perspective is applied to the buildings, making departs from the structured layout of traditional palace 266 JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim 5 design to fit the natural lay of the land. (Han, 2007) can be seen as a strategy to distinguish a royal building This section discusses how the two three-dimensional for its architectural superiority. (Fig.10.) structures are transformed by common perception and 4.2 Composing a Space of Multiple Points of View ideology into a planar image in accordance with the In Donggwoldo, the scattered-point perspective depiction mode of oblique parallel projection. of paintings is combined with a reverse perspective, 4.1 System of Objective Perspective from a enabling an overall visual balance among the areas in Contemplative Distance such a way that each has its own viewpoint. The lines Documentary paintings of architecture based on the of the roof ridges were extended to accentuate the modes of cavalier projection with upright façades, or specific composition of space of multiple viewpoints. orthographic projection with omnidirectional façades, This revealed that Donggwoldo can be divided into involve a personalized reading by the painter who four sections, each with its own reverse vanishing directly experiences the depicted subject according point: (1) Changdeokgung, (2) the Donggung (the to the hierarchy, frontality, and accessibility of its crown prince's quarters) in Changdeokgung and the major areas. In contrast, the perspective system of adjacent southern section of Changgyeonggung, (3) oblique parallel projection, in which objectivity is Changgyeonggung, and (4) the rear garden Huwon. separated from subjectivity, is basically suitable The reverse perspective, however, is less conspicuous for rational description of what is already known. in section 4. The lines that extend from the roof ridges That is, the perspective is not that of a human being of the two palaces converge at different vanishing whose line of sight converges at one point, but rather points outside of the lower left frame of the painting. that of a transcendent entity who can apprehend all In Fig.11., color-coded lines are used to distinguish segments of a panoramic view with equal attention. four different areas and the lines of the roof ridges for Parallel projection is suitable for depicting an expanse the royal buildings located in each, in order to show of alternating large architectural structures and that parallel projection was not applied uniformly. open spaces, and only when the painting presents a comprehensive view of the subject and is viewed in close proximity can an intimate connection be formed between subject and viewer that leads to the latter's better awareness of the spatial flow of the former. While oblique parallel projection has the advantage of providing a relatively balanced perspective of the whole palace, it does not provide direct information associated with the process of entering the palatial grounds, the internal flow of space, and hierarchy among the component areas. Fig.11. Space of Multiple Points of View in Donggwoldo Just as multiple viewpoints are created within one landscape painting by alternating between areas of scarcity and density, the density of royal halls and cloisters can also create an image of multiple viewpoints. The areas of highest rank are the sections containing the throne hall or cabinet hall that is surrounded by a vast courtyard and wide cloistered corridors. The emptiness of the yard attached to the throne hall is one of the most important elements of Donggwoldo and contributes to its strong presence as a visual focus. In contrast, the royal halls and cloisters that served various palatial functions are depicted in a compact manner, building visual concentration from their density and creating several visual centers across Fig.10. A Detailed View of Changgyeonggung in Donggwoldo the whole picture. 4.3 Spatial Layout and Arrangement Even though overall it is a parallel projection with an E xa m i na t i on of t he hi st ori c m a p of overhead perspective, each royal building is assigned Joseongojeokdobo reveals that royal buildings in a different angle of perception. The higher the status of Changdeokgung are arranged longitudinally with three the royal building, the lower the angle is rendered so different axes along narrow flatland located between that the highest-ranking building displays the most detail hilly terrains, and the throne hall (Myeongjeonggeon) in the decorative support brackets under the eaves. This in Changgyeonggung faces east and extends vertically. JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim 267 (Fig.12.) The two Eastern Palaces, including Huwon, the same reason, the locations of Juhapru Pavilion and are laid out vertically to the north and south in reality, Yeongyeongdang Hall are drawn further down than while the overall spatial structure in Donggwoldo they are located in actuality. is significantly expanded to the east and west. The 4.4 Division and Hierarchy of Areas result is quite a few intended distortions in the layout In Donggwoldo, the walls surrounding the areas of of buildings in Donggwoldo. To tell the difference Changdeokgung, Hwon, and Changgyeonggung are between the actual and pictorial building arrangements, connected continuously to indicate that the two palaces Joseongojeokdobo was are actually used as one, but the flow of trees is clearly projected onto a view drawn along the boundaries to divide the entire space plane through parallel into its respective areas. (Fig.5.) A point of note is projection, and the map that both Nakseonjae Mansion estate and the southern of parallel projection section of Changgyeonggung appear in the painting a n d Do n g g w o l d o as if belonging to Changdeokgung according to the were overlapped at flow of trees. While Gunggwolji (Records of Palaces) the fiducial point of includes the Nakseonjae estate in Changgyeonggung Injeongmun (The gate by designating Geonyangmun Gate as the east gate leading to Injeongjeon). of Changdeokgung, the records regarding the reign In Fi g.13., t he of King Seongjong in the Annals of the Joseon architectural Dynasty designate Geonyangmun as the inner gate and forms in altered Seoninmun as the outer gate of Changdeokgung. (Woo, Joseongojeokdobo are 1991) Therefore, if the current Seoninmun stands in its marked in red, and the original location, it can be inferred that the sections of changes in location Sugangjae Mansion, Jinsudang Hall, and Geumwi-gun for the main royal military quarters, currently classified as belonging to the buildings are indicated area of Changgyeonggung, originally were considered Fig.12. Joseongojeokdo (1930) with arrows. within the area of Changdeokgung in the 19th century. Fi g . 13 . J o se o ng o j e o k d o bo Altered into Oblique Parallel Projection Mode and Overlapped with Donggwoldo Fig.14. A Partial View of Joseongojeokdobo Showing the Royal Buildings of Two Eastern Places Color Coded According to As a result, it can be concluded that the relationship their Status between Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung and a sense of depth in the section of the latter's rear garden are the most exaggerated. Centered on the fiducial point of Injeongmun, the three sections in Changgyeonggung—the throne hall (Myeongjeongjeon), the inner gate of the throne hall (Myeongjeongmun), and the main gate (Honghwamun)—are depicted in the upper right corner, significantly different from their actual locations; also, the northern part of the Gyeongbokjeon site (the queen dowager's quarters that were destroyed Fig.15. The Locations of the Corresponding Royal Buildings by fire) is truncated, as if the middle section were cut Projected onto Donggwol do Showing the Latitudinal out, and Hwangdan Altar appears immediately. For Relationships between Royal Buildings 268 JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim Donggwoldo reveals the painter's intention to arrange actual buildings is represented as is, the width of the the royal buildings of similar hierarchy and purpose bay of each building is depicted differently as the in each palace at equal positions based on a vertical layout of the buildings is expressed differently from coordinate system. The visual effect is enhanced by how they are arranged in actuality. In addition, while deliberately unifying the axis of Changdeokgung. the building edges may be covered by the roof due to Despite the fact that the Myeongjeongjeon section is the foreshortening of the first bay in the direction of located at a lower position southeast of the Injeongjeon oblique receding lines of parallel projection, they are section, (Fig.14.) the former is depicted as the same intentionally elongated to enable the viewer to count size in the spot where it moves laterally to the right, and the exact number of bays. In this regard, Donggwoldo thus the neighboring cabinet hall and living quarters features detailed descriptions to conform to the purpose are represented at higher locations than they are in of a documentary painting while embracing drastic actuality. (Fig.15.) This appears to indicate the intent reduction and expansion for the sake of composition. to depict Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung in 4.6 Expression of Structural Exactness as an Ideal equal relationship and in perfect order. An example of The palaces in Donggwoldo are depicted close to an such is also seen in the depictions of Sujeongjeon of ideal palatial form through simplification of axis and Changdeokgung and Jagyeongjeon of Changgyeonggung, positioning of buildings, intentional reconstruction of both of which were used as the queen dowager's quarters component areas in accordance with the hierarchy of and were placed at equal positions in the painting, unlike palace architecture, and spatial reduction and expansion how they are arranged in actuality. in a longitudinal direction based on parallel projection. 4.5 Unrestrained Reduction and Expansion of Space All of the buildings depicted in Donggwoldo face one While Donggwoldo is a visual representation of the four cardinal directions—north, east, south, of architecture using parallel projection to enable and west—regardless of their actual geographical the objective expression of the subject from a conditions. This is a technique employed not only to contemplative point of view, it also has a strong increase the pictorial completeness but also to illustrate characteristic of a perceptual map in which ideal Changdeokgung as being structured in an orderly manner forms were constructed by reducing and expanding to the north and south, based on vertical hierarchy, actual spaces. The greatest amount of spatial reduction although its short longitudinal axis was a major obstacle can be seen in the Gyeongbokjeon section located to achieving such a structured layout. In particular, north of Sujeongjeon in Changdeokgung and of the three main royal buildings of Changdeokgung Jagyeongjeon in Changgyeonggung. The two queen are depicted close to the traditional palace design by dowagers' quarters are drawn on the same latitude, exaggerating the spatial depth of the north-south direction but in reality Jagyeongjeon is located further to the and unifying the orientation of the buildings. (Fig.16.) south, so it can be said that the longitudinal reduction is more significant in Changgyeonggung. The area to the upper right of Jagyeongjeon is scaled down in accordance with the length of the rear garden reduced, causing the royal buildings in this area to be arranged on the same horizontal axis as Sujeongjeon. Moreover, in actuality, Tongmyeongjeon (the queen's quarters of Changgyeongung) and Huijeongdang Hall lie on approximately the same northern latitude while facing different directions, but Tongmyeongjeon is located on the same line as Daejojeon in the painting. This result derives in large part from raising the position of Changgyeonggung and aligning the starting point of the rear garden with Changdeokgung. There are also areas that appear larger than in reality; notable examples Fig.16. A Detailed View of Changdeokgung in Donggwoldo are the crown prince's quarters Donggung, Sugangjae Mansion, Jinsudang Hall, and Geumwi-gun military As for the main external spaces that occupy an quarters in Changdeokgung. The expansion of these areas integral part within the hierarchy of palace architecture, results from depicting the throne hall and the cabinet hall unstructured spaces are intentionally depicted as of Changgyeonggung at higher positions while leaving structured. A typical example is the area containing the southern boundary of the palace unchanged. That is cloister corridors in front of Injeongmun Gate. Despite why the enlarged external spaces around the royal halls the initial unstructured quality of their construction, are depicted sparsely with a decreased visual focus. owing to the narrowness of the site, and their facing I n Donggwoldo, there are quite a few areas in the same direction as Donhwamun Gate, this area is which width and length adjustments are made to depicted in a structured shape. This example illustrates detailed depictions. While the number of bays of a strong tendency throughout the history of Joseon JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim 269 painting to regard structured arrangement along a linear effective explanation of the architectural space, instead of axis as ideal despite the restrictions associated with the a scientific one through exact replication, and to express lay of the land and site conditions, and thus it may be less the real conditions and more an architectural ideal. inferred that the depiction of unstructured spaces as Notes structured in many documentary paintings constitutes Beginning in the 16th century, Western culture came into conceptual expression of such an ideal. Throughout China and introduced partial changes to this aesthetic tradition. Donggwoldo, it can be inferred that the painter Numerous Joseon paintings from the late 18th century and later intended to express a conceptual ideal by transforming reflect the influences of Western art in their use of the laws of projection, perspective, and shading. (Lee, 2008) actual subjects rather than depicting them objectively. Jiehwa is the detailed, orthogonal, three-dimensional depiction of architectural forms with the aid of a ruler. 5. Conclusion Lin (1995) presumed that the reverse perspective first emerged to Donggwoldo is based on a contemplative system of supplement the style of depicting rectangular objects as parallelograms from a bird's-eye view that was prevalent during the late Eastern Han perspectives that adopts the objective depiction mode period and the subsequent Six Dynasties period in China. of oblique parallel projection. This mode prevents the The five directional colors represent each of the five cardinal artist from expressing intuitive thoughts or sensations, directions: blue for east, spring, and wood; red for south, summer, and instead forms a balanced composition that offers and fire; white for west, autumn, and metal; black for north, winter, and water; and yellow for the center, earth. a contemplative view of the subject in its entirety. On In Gyeongbokgung, the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty, the closer examination, however, one can see that the basic palace grounds were largely square in shape and followed the form of oblique parallel projection is preserved overall, traditional design of three gates and three courts, with the throne hall, cabinet hall, and living quarters aligned longitudinally. In but not uniformly applied to every detail. Instead, the contrast, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung, secondary palaces are reproduced from a transcendent perspective palaces of the Joseon Dynasty, were given a modified design, as into an image considered ideal to the people of the two Eastern Palaces were built on narrow hilly terrain and the time; also, while Donggwoldo is foremost a underwent various stages of extension and reconstruction. Over the course of construction, the palaces developed along different documentary painting, it displays similarities to Joseon axes: Changdeokgung's throne hall (Injeongjeon Hall) and cabinet landscape paintings, both in concept and in form. hall (Seonjeongjeon Hall) ended up in a latitudinal arrangement, The concept of "space as an experience," an important and Changgyeonggung's throne hall (Myeongjeongjeon Hall) was aspect of landscape paintings that renders space using placed at a right angle to its cabinet hall (Munjeongjeon Hall) due to their different orientations of buildings. multiple perspectives, is reflected in the dual composition The building orientation of Yeonkyeongdang is tilted fifteen of Donggwoldo: the distant view emphasizes the degrees towards the west from due south, (Park, 2010) but harmonious coexistence of the palace buildings within Yeonkyeongdang was depicted facing true south in Donggwoldo. the natural landscape, while the close-range view documents the architectural design of each royal building References 1) Ahn, H. 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(1995) Understanding View and reflective of the painting tradition that is less intent on Language of Eastern Paintings, Seoul: Min Publishing. 7) Jo, S. K. (2004) Body-subject's Knowledge of the World in maintaining a unified expression mode and instead freely Architectural Representation, Journal of Asian Architecture and uses specific styles for different purposes. Building Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.207-215. Architecturally, the palaces are assigned a strict order 8) Kim, W. J. (1998) A Study on the Drawing Method and Thought of Architectural Site Plan in Chosun Dynasty, Journal of to the arrangements and positioning of the buildings, Architectural History, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp.91-112. even though in reality they are divided along different 9) Lee, D, K and Jung, I. K (2000) Study on the 'Representation' of axes according to the natural lay of the land and were the late Chosun Dynasty through the Analysis of <Tongkueldo>, organically positioned through various stages of extension Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea, 16(1), pp.53-60. 10) Lee, S. M. (2008) Western Influence on Korean Paintings of the and reconstruction. Also, the separation of areas is Late Joseon Period. 2nd ed. Seoul: So Wa Daong. accurately marked according to hierarchy, but when 11) Lin, C. translated by Bae, Y. H. (2006) The Art of Chinese necessary, an area is freely expanded or contracted, Painting, Seoul: Daega Publishing. effectively restructuring the entire layout. The positioning 12) Park, H. J., and Park, Y. K. (2010) Revitalization of Environmental Sustainability Hidden in Yeongyeongdang, Journal of Asian of the main royal buildings, and the relationship between Architecture and Building Engineering, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp.291-298. each courtyard framed within cloistered corridors and the 13) Song, I. H., (2002) A Study on Sabang-jeondo-myobeob, a Korean building within it, are rearranged to reflect an architectural Traditional Drawing Type, Journal of Architectural History, Vol. ideal. This effectively explains how the courtyard is 11, No. 3, pp.105-120. 14) Wang, B. M. translated by Kang, G. S. (2011), Eastern Painting utilized and perceived as an open-air structure attached to Composition Theory, Seoul: Mijinsa. the building. This signifies that Donggwoldo was made 15) Woo, D. S. (1991) A Study on the Ch'angdukkung Palace, Seoul to reflect the Eastern approach to architecture, offering an National University Master's Degree Thesis. 270 JAABE vol.13 no.2 May 2014 Ho-Jeong Kim
Journal
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
– Taylor & Francis
Published: May 1, 2014
Keywords: Donggwoldo; Painting of Eastern Palaces; Visual Representation; Parallelism; Reverse Perspective
