Changes and Dissemination of Auspicious Animal Paintings in Nineteenth-century Chosŏn: Group-type Compositions

This study examines the transformation and dissemination of Auspicious beast paintings (Sŏsudo) in nineteenth-century Chosŏn, with particular emphasis on group-type compositions. Auspicious beasts refer to mythical animals such as dragons, phoenixes, and qilin, which functioned as visual embodiments of auspicious omens (sangsŏ) and developed in close association with rulership and ideals of an age of peace and prosperity.In the late Chosŏn period, group-type auspicious beast paintings—centered on family imagery that projected royal aspirations for dynastic prosperity and male offspring—were initially formed within the court and subsequently spread into the private sphere, where they underwent diverse transformations. This expansion and variation of Sŏsudo coincided with the growth of the painting and calligraphy market and changes in modes of artistic circulation during the late Chosŏn period, resulting in the rapid popularization of such imagery. These developments can be interpreted as visual responses to the social instability and uncertainty of the time.The family-based group-type auspicious beast paintings that emerged in nineteenth-century Chosŏn constitute a distinctive pictorial tradition not found in contemporaneous Chinese or Japanese representations of auspicious beasts, and they serve as key visual evidence of the process by which court painting traditions permeated popular culture. By systematically classifying the typologies of Sŏsudo, this study seeks to reassess their art-historical significance and to reposition auspicious beast paintings within the broader narrative of Chosŏn painting.