Thinking Environment in Early Modernity is a speaker series focused on intermedial problems of conceptualizing and representing the environment, both in the Early Modern period and in transhistorical contexts. Eleanor Soo-ah Hyun (Metropolitan Museum of Art) will deliver a talk entitled, “Nature and Artifice: Korean Munbangdo Painting” on Thursday, April 6th at 4:30pm in HQ 276 (Humanities Quadrangle). The lecture will also be broadcast over Zoom at this link. There will be a small reception with refreshments afterwards.
Munbangdo is a Korean still-life painting genre that emerged in the 18th century and continued to be popular into the mid-20th century. The paintings reflect contemporaneous global trends of collecting, display and trade. In addition to introducing the genre, the talk will focus on the depicted naturalia, their symbolism and connections to artifice and amusement.
Thinking Environment in Early Modernity is co-sponsored by The Franke Program in Science and the Humanities, the Program in Early Modern Studies, and the Council for East Asian Studies. For more information on the series, please contact John Hoffmeyer (john.hoffmeyer@yale.edu) or Taylor Yoonji Kang (taylor.kang@yale.edu" conversion="false" data-linkto="http://" href="http://taylor.kang@yale.edu" title="taylor.kang@yale.edu">taylor.kang@yale.edu).
Artwork Credit: Unidentified artist, “Books and Scholars’ Possessions” (early 20th century)