This hanging scroll painting is the work of Kim Hongdo ( see earlier posting on Painter of the Wind) and Im Huiji. Entitled "Tiger and Bamboo", it can be seen in Dokwon Art Museum. Seoul. Question is: Did Kim Hong-do paint the tiger or the bamboo? I'd like to think he can take credit for the former. If so, it's truly amazing how he can master so many different styles of painting. See his portraits of ordinary Koreans - his family on the road and his depiction of a Confucian scholar with his students.
"Korean Tiger" was the official catalogue published in 1984 in the run-up to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
The folk painting, "Magpie and Tiger" from the Joseon Dynasty has even been reproduced for mouse-pads. Koreans used to believe that a magpie indicated good news and luck while the tiger was used to ward off evil or bad luck. The "combination of the bird and tiger hung inside a house reflected the people's wishes that the folk painting would bring them good luck and repel evil spirits". And there I was, the philistine, thinking, "How cute - the carnivorous king of the jungle having a cosy chat with a birdie!"
"The Korean Tiger - Exploration of the Underlying Culture of Korea 1" is edited by Kim Ho-geun & Yoon Yul-soo (ISBN 89-301-0701-X) "This book includes all aspects of real and imaginary tigers including extraordinary tiger paintings, beliefs and customs related to tigers, the ecology of tigers, Korean medical therapy and tigers, the literature on tigers, and proverbs related to tigers." The first publication was in 1986, while another appeared in the "Year of the Tiger” in 1998.
update ( 11 Feb 2010), click here for more on 2010 as the year of the White Tiger.
Sources:
http://www.inform.umd.edu/Caprina/Images/Sandler/004.gif
http://www.inform.umd.edu/Caprina/classes/ARTH489.htm
http://www.san-shin.org/order4.html
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90782/6851592.html
http://www.zazzle.com/magpie_and_tiger_korean_folk_art_mousepad-144917239644885310
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