TORONTO.- The Royal Ontario Museum opened the exhibit Korea Around 1900: The Paintings of Gisan through October 29. The redesigned Herman Herzog Levy Gallery introduces the works of Korean painter Gim Gisan. A genre painter, Gisan’s work is of a documentary style, focusing on common people’s daily lives. Gisan documented a time in Korean history when the old traditions were disappearing; the 400-year-old feudal society was disintegrating and strong foreign infiltration was changing the port cities of the time. What distinguishes Gisan from other Korean painters is the sheer volume of his work found in the West, with approximately 1,000 works attributed to him.

Approximately 50 watercolour and ink paintings are showcased in this exhibition, as are a number of artifacts from the ROM’s renowned Far Eastern collections. Together, these magnificent objects comprise a unique rotating exhibition. The first six months of the exhibition showcased a series of works that focused on village life: bustling markets, school, industrial trades and farmers’ fields. The second installation, now open, focuses on the spiritual side of Korean society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These artworks examine the tripartite influence of Confucianism, Shamanism and Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty (AD 1392 – 1910), and showcase the religious ceremonies, rituals and ideologies that shaped the lives of the Korean people.