In 1788, Kang Sehwang (姜世晃, 1713~1791) criticized Jeong Seon (鄭敾, 1676~ 1759), one of the most renowned painters of Diamond Mountain (Mount Geumgang 金剛山), for not depicting its ‘true aspects’ and he displayed the desire to surpass Jeong Seon’s achievement in the painting of Diamond Mountain. This paper investigates Topographical Landscape Paintings from Kang’s oeuvre and specifically discusses how he expressed his artistic desire in the case of Pigeumjeong-do (披襟亭圖). The painting, which was executed in 1789, features the Pigeum Pavilion located on the way to the Geumgang mountain range and is one of the most monumental paintings among his artworks. In his earlier representations of landscapes, Kang tried to accurately depict the visible characteristics of the scenery and explored approaches for reproducing his visual experience in painting. In Songdo Gihaengcheop (松都紀行帖) of 1757, a set of topographical paintings of Kaeseong (開城, present North Korea), Kang introduces new techniques from Western art, e.g. linear perspective and shading technique, creating a highly three-dimensional effect. His interest toward this kind of landscape painting persisted for more than 30 years, including the period when he officially ceased any painting activities.

강세황 Kang, Sehwang, 『豹菴遺稿 Pyoam Yugo (collected manuscripts of Kang Sehwang)』, 한국정신문화연구원 Seongnam: The Academy of Korean Studies, 1979. 김건리 Kim, Gunri, 「豹菴 姜世晃의 《松都紀行帖》 硏究 Study on the Songdo Gihaengchup of Kang Sehwang」, 이화여자대학교 대학원 석사학위논문 M.A. thesis, Seoul: Ewha Womans University, 2001. 박은순 Park, Eunsoon, 『금강산도 연구 A Study on the Painting of Mt. KumKang』, 일지사 Seoul:Ilgisa, 1997. 박은순 Park, Eunsoon, 「고와 금의 변주; 표암 강세황의 사의산수화와 진경산수화 A Variation of the Old and the New: Kang Sehwang’s Conceptual Landscape Painting and True-view Landscape Painting」, 『표암 강세황: 조선후기 문인화가의 표상 Pyoam Kang Sehwang: Master of Literati Painters in Late Joseon Korea』, 한국미술사학회 Seoul: Art History Association of Korea, 2013.