문화 권력 경쟁: 玉壺亭과 石坡亭의 경영과 별서도의 후원

Abstract

In pre-modern Korea, the ownership of villas and the patronage for paintings of those villas were exclusive activities only for the privileged circles. Those estate paintings were not only ostentatious instruments but also strategical media to embody political messages and cultural supremacy. This paper examines such patronage activities in the Joseon society, which involved two powerful families: Andong Kim clan, one of the most influential courtier families; Jeonju Lee clan, the Royal Family of the Joseon Dynasty. Since the seventeenth century, Andong Kim family had continued their constructions of villas within and without the capital city and maintained their patronage for paintings of those villas, depending on familys political vicissitudes. By depicting the patron as a recluse, a guardian of the cultural heritage, or a power-holder, the family actively employed the function of paintings, which created political, social and cultural messages in the most elegant ways. From the mid-nineteenth century, however, not only Andong Kims ownership of villas but also their tradition of visual representations were taken over by the Royal Family, as Regent Heungsun began to take the measure to keep a tight rein on Andong Kims monopolization of political power. Ironically, the Royal Family had continued their confiscation activities of such cultural supremacy even though the Dynasty itself stepped into the downfall in the twentieth century. Given this story, the paper elucidates the socio-cultural meaning of the rivalry in art patronage by focusing on the history of two families. In so doing, I hope this paper could contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the nineteenth-century Joseon society that has been limited by an unbalanced focus on political history.