Minhwa

Uncommon card · No. 193790

Minhwa (Korean: 민화; Hanja: 民畵) refers to Korean folk art produced mostly by itinerant or unknown artists without formal training, emulating contemporary trends in fine art for the purpose of everyday use or decoration. This type of painting was often the work of anonymous craftsmen who faithfully adhered to the styles, canons and genres inherited from the past. Minhwa also involved a magical dimension. They were believed to possess beneficial virtues and to protect the owner and his family from evil forces. They feature popular themes such as cranes, rocks, water, clouds, the sun, moon, pine trees, tortoises, insects and flowers, painted onto paper or on canvas throughout the Chosun era (1392–1910). As Yoon (2020) notes, Minhwa was a traditional art form intimately connected to the lives of the Korean people, best embodying the Korean sentiment (p. 14). As one of the rare art traditions in which the artworks design found direct visual form outside the elite court and literati...

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