Books as Paintings: Chaekgeori · About Minhwa

Long ago, books were rare and expensive. So people did something clever: instead of buying a room full of books, they painted one.

These paintings are called chaekgeori. They show stacks of books, brushes, ink stones, vases, and other treasures of a scholar’s study.

A king who loved books

King Jeongjo (1752–1800) loved learning. In 1784 he even made “bookshelves” a test subject for royal painters.

A record from 1791 says he placed a bookshelf screen behind his throne. He told his officials, in short, “These are not books. It is only a painting.” He wanted the painting to remind everyone to love good writing.

Painters with names

Unlike most minhwa, some chaekgeori painters are known. The ten-panel screen at the top was painted by Yi Taek-gyun, a court painter who earlier went by the name Yi Hyeong-rok. Later, families outside the palace painted chaekgeori too, in freer and more playful ways.

From the Artist

— Jieun Ro

My award-winning work, Chaekgeori, Two Panels, is a careful re-creation of a traditional chaekgeori in the collection of the Leeum Museum of Art. Because it was not a brand-new design, I thought hardest about one question: how can I hold the original’s noble proportions and depth, without losing anything, in the small space of just two panels?

I also worked hard on the base layers and the mix of mineral colors. I wanted to keep the soft, aged look of the old work, while making the colors clear and deep instead of dull.

Most of all, I focused on the visual “breathing” between the two panels, so that the book boxes, ceramics, and writing tools would balance each other without being too much when hung side by side.

Try This

Look at the shelves in the first screen. Some objects seem to pop out toward you. Can you find one?

Image credits & sources

This story is part of an ongoing series. More stories are on the way.

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