Still life with bronze vessels and flowering plants

Jang Seung-eop (pen name: Owon)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Still-life paintings of antique vessels with flowering plants and fruits emerged as a distinct Korean art form (gimyeong jeoljido) in the nineteenth century. The bronzes depicted on this screen are stylized, exaggerated versions of late Qing period (1644–1911) Chinese examples. The vessels were known in Korea through imported collectibles and their representation in Chinese paintings, prints, and lithographs. The work is a rare example of turn-of-the-twentieth-century still-life painting in the screen format. The leftmost panel bears the signature and seal of Jang Seungeop, the leading court artist of the time. Students and others signed for the illiterate master, and some works attributed to Jang may be collaborations or by his immediate followers.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art