Hyewon Sin Yun-bok’s Landscape Paintings II: Relationship with Danwon Kim Hong-do and His Artistic Influence

Hyewon(蕙園) Sin Yun-bok(申潤福, 1758?-1817 or later) regarded Danwon(檀園) Kim Hong-do(金弘道, 1745-1806?), a colleague of his father Sin Han-pyung(申漢枰, 1726?-1809 or later) and the greatest court painter of the time, his teacher and older brother. He is presumed to have directly or indirectly learned and mastered the painting style of Kim Hong-do. While direct evidence of the relationship between the two men is scarce, their relationship can be inferred from the friendship between his father, Shin Han-pyeong and his colleague at the Dohwaseo, Kim Hong-do and the writings of the contemporary literati Hyehwanjae(惠寰齋) Lee Yong-hyu(李用休, 1708-1782). Regardless of genre, such as portrait, and flower, bird and animal paintings, the influence of Kim Hong-do on Shin Yun-bok’s artistic world can be seen throughout his works. The same is true for landscape paintings, among which works such as Suhasiok, Dokseoyeoga, Goeseokpachodo, and Hangryeopungsokdobyeong are closely related to Kim Hong-do’s painting style. These paintings are so clearly influenced by Kim Hong-do in terms of composition and brushwork that they are mistaken for his works. Through this, it is revealed that Shin Yun-bok mastered his painting techniques through the process of imitating and copying Kim Hong-do’s works. However, Shin Yun-bok did not stop at simply copying or imitating Kim Hong-do’s style; rather, he developed an original and unique style through various experiments and attempts based on the process. Shin Yun-bok’s unique landscape painting style, evident in his Hangryeopungsokdobyeong, which emulated Kim Hong-do’s early work, Sansupungsok Eight-Piece Folding Screen, with its simple and plain brushstrokes, diverse use of colors, and generous use of white space, provided new inspiration and stimulation to his contemporaries and subsequent generations.