Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Soyoung Lee, and others, Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

Quarto, dustwrapper, hard cover, original publisher's cloth, 128 pages, well illustrated in colour.

Although pre-owned, this book is in 'as-new' condition.

'This volume and the exhibition it accompanies present a compelling and eloquent account of the artistic and cultural renaissance in Korea during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The exquisite paintings, ceramics, metalware, lacquerware, and printed books featured in this publication are drawn from the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and other important museums, institutions, and private collections in Korea, the United States, Japan, and Europe. Many of these distinguished works have never before been seen in the United States.

These masterpieces were produced under the aegis of Korea's revolutionary last dynasty, the Joseon, which was founded in 1392 and lasted until 1910. Within the dynasty's first two centuries, the Joseon rulers institutionalized the reorganization of civil and religious society undertaken by the previous Goryeo kings. Moreover, the new leaders sought to create a political, social, and cultural renewal following a period of Mongol domination and internal regression. As active patrons and collectors - and sometimes painters themselves - the Joseon royal family also brought a dynamic new vision to the nation's artistic traditions.'