'Folk Paintings'

If we go to the museum, we can see a painting of a tiger with funny face, staying close with a magpie. We call these kinds of paintings as, 'Folk Paintings'. Folk Paintings were usually created during the Joseon Dynasty. Even thought it looks crude and sloppy, it was one of the popular artistic styles at that time.

We don't actually know when we started to paint Folk Paintings. It has its origins in ancient tomb murals that were made during the Three Kingdoms Period. And they were created a lot during the Joseon Dynasty. Our ancestors usually used these Folk Paintings to decorate their houses. But, they had different meanings. Let's learn about the painting, 'The Magpie and the Tiger', in detail.

The magpie and the tiger don't harmonize well in reality. However, they have been models in our Folk Paintings. Why did our ancestors use these two animals together in paintings? There are some interpretations for that reason.

First, this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has the tiger with a funny face talking with the magpie. The magpie was known as a bird which brings good news. And the tiger was an animal which spread the good news. So, we can think that the magpie is telling the tiger about the good news it had brought. So, this picture means that the good news is coming in this year.

And this 'The Magpie and the Tiger' has a quite different interpretation. The tiger in this picture looks like it has burst into a rage. However, the magpie is on the pine tree branch despite the tiger's rage. Normally, the tiger in this picture symbolizes the corrupt noblemen who lost their authority, and the magpie symbolizes the commoners who are mocking at those nobles.

Folk Paintings don't have topics or subject matters so, we can also create Folk Paintings. If you are interested in Folk Paintings, visit Gahoe Museum for more information.