Bamboo through the Four Seasons

Yu Tŏk-chang (also known as Su-un and Ka-san-ŭng)

mid 18th century

Eight-panel folding screen; ink on paper; with two seals of the artist reading "Su-un" and "Ka-san-ŭng"

Arthur M. Sackler Museum

Korean folding screens often have six panels, like those painted in Japan; more characteristically, however, Korean screens boast eight, ten, or even twelve panels. In some cases, a Korean screen may feature a single, unified composition that spreads across all its panels; in other instances--such as this one--each panel is conceived as an individual painting. Representing bamboo through the four seasons, this eight-panel screen is meant to be "read" by the viewer from right to left. The first two paintings, at the far right, depict newly sprung shoots and fresh stalks of bamboo emerging from the ground in spring. The next pair of i