Kim
Kwan-ho (1890-1959)
Born in P'yŏngyang, Kim was the second Korean to study Western
oil painting in Japan, and is recognized for introducing nude painting
to Korea. For his Tokyo School of Fine Arts graduation work, "Haejillyŏk'"
(Dusk), he
was awarded with a 'Special Award' at the 1916 annual Bunten, the Japanese
national art exhibit.
Kim
Kwan-ho is probably best known for his 1916 graduation work, the
Chavannesque "Dusk", regarded as the first nude in Korean oil painting
(in Tokyo)
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After
holding his first solo exhibition that December, Kim continued to participate
in national and group exhibitions during the next several years, and
in 1923 became the first Korean to receive an award for his painting
"Hosu"
(Lake), displayed
in the Western-style painting section of the Sŏnjŏn, the Japan-installed
annual national art exhibition of Korea. Kim worked as a painter and
book illustrator for several years in P'yŏngyang. South Korean
studies claim that he gave up painting after 1927, but he did reappear
in 1946 when he became the head of the P'yŏngyang Standing Committee
of the Central Committee of the Korean Artists Union. He also may have
taught at P'yŏngyang Art School (the school's collection has several
of his works). In winter 1957, Kim traveled to Warsaw to participate
in a Korean art exhibition there (see Chosŏn misul, 1/1958).
Is
this above 1956 Kim Kwan-ho portrait a self-portrait ?
My preliminary assumption
is a "yes": (a) Both images (photo and painting) look very similar,
especially considering the difference in age (Kim was 11 years older
when he painted the 1956 portrait) .. see e.g. the prominent nose. There
are are no obvious differences in facial features. (b) The portrait
lacks any votive or otherwise identifying inscription in Han'gŭl
that are found in all other North Korean portraits as reproduced in
NK journals of the 1950s as well as those in the collection of the P'yŏngyang
Art Museum and in Wŏnsan (such as Kim's worker portrait of the
colonial period strike leader Hong Kyŏng-sŏn (1948) or his
portrait of the politician Pak Ch'ang-sik from 1955 [next image]).
Does anyone know of any other photographs of Kim Kwan-ho from the 1950s?
E-mail me.
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