Egret and Reeds (late 1800s): Art, History and Details

Egret and Reeds (late 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) (Korean, 1843–1919?).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In this hanging scroll, an egret walks along the shores of a salt marsh where reeds abundantly grow. Native to Pyongyang, the artist Yang Ki-hun had no rival in bird-and-flower themes. The Taedong River estuary, one of Pyongyang’s beloved natural sites, may have been Yang’s favorite spot to observe and sketch various water birds. Yang treated his subjects of flora and fauna with an observant naturalist’s view, yet his choice of subjects—an egret and reeds—is deeply rooted in traditional symbolic language: the egret stands for the scholarly reclusive life, while reeds indicate humility and modesty.

Object facts

• Title: Egret and Reeds
• Date: late 1800s
• Creator attribution: Yang Ki-hun (Seuk-Eun) (Korean, 1843–1919?)
• Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: hanging scroll; ink on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 196 x 61 cm (77 3/16 x 24 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 2015.509

A detail from the museum

Yang Ki-hun was one of the most commercially successful painters known for decorative bird-and-flower subjects.

Collection credit

Gift from the Collection of George Gund III

Further reading listed by the museum

• Seo, Jeong-min. “Yang Gi-hun"s Painting of Geese and Reeds [석연 양기훈 노안도 연구].” Hanguk geunhyundai misul sahak (2015): 107–133.
• Modern Traditions in Korean Calligraphy and Painting [근대서화]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2019.
• Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.