Korean painting has established a unique style of portrait, landscape and plants and insects painting that is distinct from Chinese and Japanese style. In particular, Plants and Insects paintings(Cho-Chung-Do) hold a special value for contributing greatly to the actual development of Korean style.
Based of the written records and preceding researches, 'Plants and Insects' painting derives from Chinese 'Flowers and Birds' painting. Originally each insect's name was used as the title, then the name 'Plants and Insects' first appeared in art books in Northern Sung period. Plants and Insects gained its place as an independent category in Qing period. In Korean history, Plants and Insects became an independent category in 16th century of early Chosun Dynasty. With increasing exchange of paintings with China since Goryeo Dynasty, Plants and Insects painting have developed into its prime. Unfortunately, only few paintings of Goryeo Dynasty survived, leaving little data to be collected. However, Plants and Insects can still be found in ceramics and embroidery to show the possibility of Plants and Insects' existence as a general painting style.
Plants and Insects gained its solid place as a real painting style in Chosun Dynasty, which was also when Korean art achieved the greatest development of its history. It was the period when Plants and Insects showed remarkable changes and developments. The Plants and Insects in the early Chosun Dynasty(1392~1550) represented by the works of Shin Saimdang, showed simplicity and warmth. Using center-based composition and coloring without sketching outlines, its clean and modest use of color and feminine, delicate description established a unique style. In the middle Chosun Dynasty, center-based composition slowly changed into more dynamic, diagonal composition. Later the flowers, birds and rocks were described with more bold and vigorous brush stokes, along with more delicate description of insects.
As a result of such development, Plants and Insects paintings of Chosun Dynasty established a style that can look rather empty and unsophisticated at times but has a natural and subtle, simple charm which gives a comfortable, familiar feeling that makes people smile. They are drastically different from Chinese Plants and Insects which are rich, decorative and glamorous. Plants and Insects paintings of Chosun Dynasty have established a unique style which cannot be found in Chinese paintings. However, unfortunately only a very small number of artists have inherited this particular Korean style represented by Shin Saimdang's Plants and Insects, limiting its potential to expand to other areas of art. Along with the rapid modernization of the society the Korean tradition also faces dangers of westernization.
This dissertation follows the process of ancient color restoration and copy of Shin Saimdang's Plants and Insects folding screen from early Chosun Dynasty, using traditional head-side folding screen using the traditional paper-pasting method. Surviving works of Shin Saimdang's Plants and Insects are 28 pieces, including several embroideries and 18 paintings. The main material chosen for this dissertation was 8-sided folding screen from the collection of the National Museum of Korea. The annotations by Jik-Am-Sin-Kyeong and O-Se-Chang make the folding screen from National Museum's collection more special compared to other pieces. Besides the similarity in composition, the collection from the National Museum of Korea differentiates itself from other works by describing the earth in pointillist style. Thus this dissertation focuses on the aforementioned folding screen as central subject of the study.