Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Mount Geumgang
Not on view
This very long handscroll comprising a series of independent scenes is among the most comprehensive sets documenting the various sites of Mount Geumgang. A number of compositions parallel those appearing in Kim Hajong’s Album of Sea and Mountains; both likely followed prototypes established by Kim Hongdo. The style of this artist may be characterized as awkward but imaginative: if lacking in sophisticated brushwork, the captivating details effectively communicate the singular marvel that is the Diamond Mountains.
Shown here are various picturesque sites, including Pyohun Temple, Manpok Valley, Sumitap Rock, and Black Dragon Pond, all of the Inner Geumgang region. This artist’s rendition of the Sumitap Rock and surrounding scenery, compared to that attributed to Kim Hongdo , is less complicated but more playful.
The scenery here, showing Manmulcho Rocks (also known as Manmulsang), captures the bizarre beauty of this part of Outer Geumgang. Tall towers of faceted rocks loom over the foreground, and needlelike white rocks—some of which resemble cursorily outlined human figures—fill the background. The presence of travelers serves to reinforce nature’s imposing scale. Other stirring sceneries illustrated here extend to Sea Geumgang and include the eye-catching basaltic columns surrounding Chongseok Pavilion.
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