STILL LIFE IN MOTION The Origins and Development of Chaekgeori Painting

The Korean still life, chaekgeori, rendered on multipanel folding screens, may be descended from the object-as-subject art form that arose in fifteenth-century Europe as exploration inspired the assembly of natural and exotic objects from around the world, The display of such collections in Kunstharnrner and curio cabinets, and the depiction thereof in tram pe l'oeil paintings, evidently was transmitted by Catholic missionaries to China. Emperors of the early Qing dynasty used the technique, as manifested through open duobaoge shelves, to proclaim their culture and knowledge, and thus the propriety of their dominion. Paintings of these collections and other subjects by Jesuit artists, notably Giuseppe Castiglione, were seen in Beijing churches and homes by visiting Korean envoys and artists. By the late eighteenth century, Western-style art was common in Korea, and the idiosyncratic adaptation, chaekgeori, had appeared. Popularization of this form was promoted by King Jeongjo, who encouraged austerity and good behavior through depictions of shelves holding Confucian classics and other worthy books. Meanwhile, however, a more materialistic culture was developing, especially through the increasing wealth and influence of a professional middle class, the jungin. Books remained in the paintings but were outnumbered by luxury goods and foreign objects, expressing the owners' identity, social status, and affluence. The original, large "bookshelf" chaekgeori screens, showing complex shelving units, were partly supplanted by a smaller and less expensive style, depicting objects stacked on tabletops. While likely mass produced in art workshops, paintings in this new style conveyed the owners' aspirations and desire for good fortune.