Jeong Seon

Jeong Seon's Inwang Jesaekdo (1750s)

François Boucher (born in 1703; hereafter, B) was also a renowned 18th-century artist, working in France. He lived during roughly the same period as J, but his paintings were strikingly different from J's. Portrait of Madame de Pompadour is among his best-known works. Boucher was extremely prolific and is believed to have produced around a thousand paintings. By comparison, several hundred paintings by or attributed to J have survived, although the total number he actually produced is unknown.

J was supported by wealthy patrons, many of whom belonged to an influential aristocratic family. The Jangdong Kim clan was one of the prominent families of the Joseon Dynasty in the 18th century. One of its famous ancestors, Kim Sang-heon, strongly opposed submission to the Qing Dynasty during the Manchu invasion of Joseon. Although his position ultimately failed because Joseon lacked the military power to resist the Qing, Kim Sang-heon's spirit of resistance was celebrated by later generations. His descendants developed into a powerful lineage known as the Jangdong Kim clan.

They lived around the foot of Inwangsan Mountain, an area then known as Jangdong. Members of the Jangdong Kim clan became important patrons of J. Their support helped him travel to places such as Geumgangsan Mountain, where he developed his distinctive way of seeing and depicting the Korean landscape. They also provided financial and social support that allowed him to continue painting.

Through these connections, J was able to serve as the magistrate of Yangcheon, an area near Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty. While serving there, he painted many landscapes depicting the Han River and its surroundings. Today, his paintings allow us to imagine what the Han River landscape looked like nearly three centuries ago.

B was likewise supported by wealthy and powerful members of French society. French aristocrats commissioned numerous paintings from him because they admired his style. This style became closely associated with Rococo. The word "Rococo" is related to the French word rocaille, referring to shell- and rock-like ornamental decoration. Rococo was elegant, decorative, and characterized by abundant curves and elaborate ornamentation. Aristocrats wanted Rococo-style paintings and decorations for the salons of their luxurious residences.

Boucher also operated a large workshop. In this respect, his practice can be compared with that of Rubens in the 17th-century Low Countries. Assistants and pupils in Boucher's workshop helped produce works in his style, allowing the workshop to respond efficiently to strong demand from wealthy patrons.

During J's lifetime, the Joseon Dynasty was enjoying a period of relative stability and recovery. It had overcome the devastating wars of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, including the Manchu invasions. Commerce expanded, and reforms to taxation made parts of the fiscal system more standardized and predictable. In some ways, J's paintings reflect the stability and confidence of his era.

During B's lifetime, France was also prosperous and culturally brilliant, but beneath that prosperity were serious structural problems. The French monarchy displayed enormous wealth, while aristocrats enjoyed a sophisticated culture of painting, architecture, fashion, music, and luxury goods. At the same time, the state suffered from fiscal problems, social privileges were increasingly criticized, and tensions gradually accumulated. Boucher died in 1770, nineteen years before the French Revolution broke out in 1789. The Revolution ultimately brought fundamental changes to the aristocratic society in which Rococo culture had flourished.

It is fascinating to compare the paintings of J and B. They were produced during roughly the same period—the mid-18th century—yet they convey completely different feelings. J looked at the granite mountains, valleys, and rivers of Joseon and developed a distinctive vision of the Korean landscape. B worked within the sophisticated aristocratic culture of France, creating graceful, sensual, and highly decorative images for the court and wealthy patrons.

J's Inwang Jesaekdo and Jangdong Palgyeong (Eight Views of Jangdong) are housed in the National Museum of Korea. Boucher painted Madame de Pompadour several times, so there is no single Portrait of Madame de Pompadour. One of his portraits of her is housed in the Louvre, while the famous 1756 portrait is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

If you have the opportunity to visit these museums, seek out these paintings and see them in person. Looking at works by Jeong Seon and François Boucher side by side—even if only in your imagination—is a fascinating way to experience two very different worlds that existed at the same moment in history.