Drawing Flowers and Butterflies
Joseon Dynasty painters drew flowers and butterflies using methods such as ‘imitation and practice’ and ‘drawing and observation.’
Learning about the composition of the screen, the shape of flowers, and the movement of butterflies by looking at the Hwabo, a drawing textbook, was an important method for painters to study drawing.
In the 19th century, the trend of painting through direct observation spread, and the representative painter was Nam Gye-woo (1811-1888).
Nam Gye-woo was considered the best butterfly painter of the Joseon Dynasty, to the point that he was called ‘Nam Butterfly’. His butterfly paintings were so detailed that one could distinguish betwee...