History painting
Documentary Painting: Battle of Hansan Island, The War Memorial of Korea Open Archives

History painting

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A painting that records and celebrates a significant historic event or the acts of a person. History paintings focus on heroic figures, they emphasize the historical significance of events rather than an accurate depiction of facts, and compositions that dramatize the scenes. Depending on the era, history paintings also incorporate the narratives from legends and mythology. Of pre-modern era history paintings, gyehoedo, which commemorate the gathering of Joseon-era literati, and euigwedo, which document court ceremonies, are also a type of history painting. During the Japanese colonial era, portraits of legendary figures such as Dangun and Dongmyeong and historical figures such as Yi Sun-sin were produced in biographical form. Korean artists were also recruited for the creation of Japanese seisen bijutsu (Holy War Art). In the context of late-20th century art production in Korea, history paintings were produced en masse from the 1960s to the 1970s through the Korean Heritage Painting project.
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service

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