Korean Art and Architecture

The last Silla kings were weak and were succeeded by the Koryŏ (Goryeo) dynasty. The ancient ceramics tradition reached an apogee at this time in the incomparable green-glaze stoneware called celadon; it is characterized by the distinctive color resulting from the gray clay body under a translucent green glaze and is often decorated with motifs stamped or carved onto the surface and then filled with white or brown clay. The most popular forms were vases, desk utensils, and vessels that served either secular or religious functions.

Gilt bronze and gold statuary were widely produced during the Koryŏ period, continuing the sculptural tradition within Buddhist art. The Koryŏ era is most notable, however, for other religious artifacts. Bronze architectural ornaments reveal the decorative sophistication found within temple complexes. Elaborate rituals required utensils of various kinds; the most beautiful were executed in gilt bronze or celadon. In the Koryŏ period, painting first gained importance, again within the Buddhist context. The remaining 14th-century examples reveal an impressive level of accomplishment, which would fully flourish in the succeeding Chosŏn (Joseon) period.

The Korean government was restructured in the 14th century, which prepared for the artistic accomplishments of the Chosŏn period. The major artistic achievements in the Chosŏn dynasty were in two areas: ceramics and painting. The so-called punch'ŏng wares, highly decorated folk pottery, served both artistic and functional purposes. In contrast to this robust pottery are the delicate porcelain wares, most notably the blue and white style that was transmitted from China in the 15th century and which occurs as small vases, water droppers, and brush pots, revealing its favored status among the scholarly class.

From the 15th century on, a professional painting “bureau” existed in Korea. The most important works, however, were produced by amateur-scholars, a tendency found in China as well. In the early Chosŏn period, the most influential force in Korean painting was the landscape tradition of China's Northern Song (Sung) artists. The Koreans did not adhere strictly to the Chinese styles and produced a distinct form of expression using bolder colors, freer brushwork, and subtle humor. Painting of the later Chosŏn dynasty reflects both the conservatism of the Chinese Che school and the individualism of the Korean artists, who experimented with Zen brush painting and innovative styles in calligraphy and continued to use bright colors and lively, secular themes.

The 20th-century art of Korea is still dominated by ceramics, particularly by revivals of interest in Koryŏ celadon and the Chosŏn blue and white style, as well as by painting styles, all of which continue much of the individualism established in the 18th and 19th centuries.

See also Chinese Art and Architecture; Japanese Art and Architecture.