Painting of One Hundred Themeslate 1800s · Study 1998.286

Context from the museum

The front of this screen features an assortment of subjects: birds and flowers, landscapes, and scenes of everyday life, mostly in monochromatic ink with light colors. The screen’s reverse side conveys a number of classical poems about the fleeting beauty of the four seasons. Traditionally, only one side of a folding screen bears painted or embroidered images, since these were used as a background furnishing. In Korean houses by the 1800s and early 1900s, however, two-sided folding screens became noticeably popular, possibly inspired by Japanese double-sided folding screens, which mainly served as room dividers in Japanese households.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

The way of displaying small images of various subjects became one of the most popular type of painting toward the end of the 19th century.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting only measurement for Painting of One Hundred Themes is 43.6 cm wide and 164.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 17.2 × 64.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.27:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.72 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 14.5% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 128.2 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Painting of One Hundred Themes in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Ten-panel folding screen affixed with album leaves (obverse), calligraphy (reverse), ink and color on silk, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 43.6 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?