Books and Scholarly Accoutrements
This two-panel screen is part of a painting genre known as munbangdo (“scholar’s study painting”) that developed in the eighteenth century. Books are the most important motif in the genre, which portrays many objects associated with scholarly pursuits. This screen has the rare addition of book titles, including Confucian classics and popular fiction. It also reflects illusionism, a common feature of bookcase munbangdo. This example incorporates Western linear perspective and shading techniques to convey depth and volume. All the objects bear meaning. Ceramics, for example, symbolize cultivated taste, peaches represent longevity, and sliced watermelon with seeds indicates fertility.
Two-panel screens are less common but were often created for corners. In the original mounting, the image seamlessly continued across the two panels to look like a single bookcase with stepped shelving.
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