Heo Lim(1918-1942) is a grandson of Heo Ryeon, the leading figure of the Honam Province Artistic Circles. He comes from a family of artists and his family’s traditional painting style became the main style of the Honam Province Artistic Circles. Influenced by his father, Heo Hyung, and his older brother, Heo Geon, Heo Rim also became an artist. However, instead of following the traditional painting style of his family, Heo Rim pursued a new style of painting. It is evident in his paintings which he had entered at the Government Art Exhibition in Korea(Joseon) and Japan. The purpose of this paper is to delve into the changes of Heo Rim’s painting style and the reviews of his painting at the time, how his paintings have influenced his brother, Heo Geon, as well as the Honam province artistic circles.
In 1935, as age of 17, he showed 〈Morning(朝)〉, which was influenced by Lee Sangbum, at the Joseon Arts Exhibition. In the following year, he entered the similarly styled 〈Echo of Walley after the Rain(雨後溪響)〉 and the 〈Twilight of the Autumn Forest(秋林薄暮)〉 and won prizes. These select works were not in the tradition of his family’s painting style, but rather in the then popular style of Lee Sangbum’s earlier landscape paintings. The selection of his paintings at such an early age attracted media attention, however the critics denounced Heo Rim’s works in Lee Sangbum’s style.
Subsequently, Heo Rim submitted local landscapes in ink to the Joseon Arts Exhibition. Departing from Lee Sangbum’s painting style, his works- 〈A Country Cottage(田家)〉, 〈A Cottage Overlooking the Ocean(海見へる田家)〉, 〈After the Rain(雨後)〉 and 〈The Diamond Mountain Myogilsang(金剛山 妙吉祥)〉 - were based on the local landscapes around him. These works indicate in Heo Rim’s style more in line with the Joseon Art Exhibition and that he made accommodations based on the criticisms of the critics.
In 1940, Heo Lim moved abroad to Tokyo, Japan to st study abroad at Kawabata Art School(川端畵學校), where he learned Western and Japanese painting techniques. In 1941 and 1942, his works 〈A Country cottage(田家)〉 and 〈By June(六月の頃)〉 respectively were selected at the Annual Art Exhibition, sponsored by the Japan’s Ministry of Education (Bunten Exhibition). The subject matter of both works was the landscape of farming village in the outskirt of Mokpo city in Korea. He created these works of Pointillism by merging the elements of the Western paintings and the medium of the traditional paintings. Heo Rim’s new style where he applied Western painting techniques in traditonal paintings demonstrated a new modern sense of aesthetics unseen in the past and received acclaim from the Japanese art critics.
Nevertheless, Heo Rim passed away at the unripe age of 24 in 1942. Following his death, his brother Heo Geon presented works influenced by Heo Rim’s new style of painting at the Joseon Art Exhibition. However, Heo Geon’s new style of paintings were wrongly perceived as ‘Japanese style’ and was no longer appreciated and was discarded upon Korea’s liberation from the Japanese colonial occupation.
Heo Rim’s painting which were shown at the Government Art Exhibition in Korea(Joseon) and Japan rejected the traditional style and followed the trend of the time. Especially, after his studies in Japan, His works were innovative and showed a new sensibility. Furthermore, he provided a breath of new air and stimulation for the conservative Honam Province Artistic Circles.
It is noteworthy that he depicted the traditional Joseon provincial landscape in a new light by utilizing various pigments in addition to the traditional usage of ink as his medium. His new painting style applied the Japanese painting techniques of the time, based on the influences of the Honam province artistic circles and the Western perspective of the then Japanese traditional style. Heo Rim’s achievement is significant for his attempt at innovation and demonstration in change.