About the Artwork
During the Choson dynasty (1392–1910) in Korea, the ruling class consisted of scholar-officials trained in Chinese classics and Neo-Confucian philosophy. A scholar’s home would have contained a room filled with objects and works of art to aid his literary pursuits and signal his preference for simple elegance. This restrained and tasteful painting once hung in such a study. The plum blossom is one of the so-called four gentlemen, a group of plants that also includes the orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, thought to embody Confucian ideals, and was therefore a common subject matter in scholar painting. Chong Tae-gyu was a specialist in plum blossom paintings. Because the plum tree blooms before the snow melts, it symbolizes strength and courage in adversity. Three inscriptions in Chinese praise the beauty of the plum blossom. The fan thus embodies the “three perfections”—poetry, calligraphy, and painting—considered essential accomplishments of a gentlemen-scholar. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
Plum Blossoms
19th century
Jeong Taekyu
19th century
Korean
Unknown
Ink on paper
Overall: 61 × 40 1/4 × 1 1/2 inches (154.9 × 102.2 × 3.8 cm) Image: 16 1/2 × 30 1/2 inches (41.9 × 77.5 cm) Installed: 63 × 40 1/4 × 1 1/2 inches (160 × 102.2 × 3.8 cm)
Paintings
Asian Art
Founders Society Purchase, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence P. Fisher, by exchange
2000.89
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
Inscribed, throughout, in Chinese
Stamps, in red, at the beginning and end of each inscription: [six seals]
Provenance
until 1982, Joseph Breitenbach [Director, United Nations Photographic Mission-Korea, 1951-52] (New York, USA)
1982-2000, The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Professor Roberta L. Carroll, MD, (New York, New York, USA): 2000-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Jeong Taekyu, Plum Blossoms, 19th century, ink on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence P. Fisher, by exchange, 2000.89.
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