Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements

Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements

Yi Taek-gyun

First produced around the second half of the eighteenth century, chaekgado (literally, “pictures of bookshelves”) flourished throughout the 1800s as a royal emblem. And soon this pictorial genre became a popular furnishing item for aristocrats' elegant studies. The third panel from the right bears a hidden seal that reveals the artist: Yi Taek-gyun, a prominent court artist active in the late 1800s.

Colors in this work

Details

Date
late 1800s
Dimensions
overall: height 1.975 m, width 3.95 m; each panel: height 1.975 m, width 0.395 m; open and extended: height 1.975 m, width 2.97 m; painting only: height 1.393 m, width 3.308 m
Department
Korean Art
Holding institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Image provider
cleveland-museum-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Art Genome Taxonomy

11 tags

Subject Matter

  • Group of Objects Both · 99%

    The title and catalog description identify a chaekgado, while the image visibly presents a structured collection of books, vessels, flowers, and scholarly implements.

  • Still Life Visual · 90%

    The image presents an arranged display of inanimate objects rather than figures or a narrative scene, with books and furnishings occupying shelf compartments.

Visual Qualities

  • Geometric Visual · 97%

    Repeated rectangular shelves, vertical panel divisions, horizontal book stacks, and right-angled framing dominate the composition.

  • Dense Composition Visual · 92%

    The painted upper and central areas are densely populated with many books and small objects, despite the relatively open dark lower field.

  • Angled shelf sides and receding compartment planes create a pronounced illusion of spatial depth within the frontal screen format.

  • Highly Detailed Visual · 94%

    The image contains fine outlines, patterned bindings, ornamental vessel details, floral motifs, and numerous small accessories.

  • Patterns Visual · 86%

    Decorative motifs and repeated patterned surfaces are visible on book covers, vessels, boxes, and other objects.

Medium and Techniques

  • Painting Metadata · 99%

    The museum classifies the work as a painting and identifies its medium as ink and color on silk.

  • Screen Format Both · 99%

    The catalog identifies the object as a ten-panel folding screen, and the image visibly shows a sequence of articulated vertical panels.

Time Periods

  • Late 19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The museum dates the work to the late 1800s, with a recorded date range of 1875–1899.

Geographic Regions

  • Asian Art Metadata · 99%

    The museum records the work as originating in Korea during the Joseon dynasty; the catalog provides Asian Art as the applicable regional category.

Source & rights

Yi Taek-gyun (Korean, 1808–after 1883). Books and Scholars’ Accoutrements. Cleveland Museum of Art.

High-resolution sources