Irworobongdo (Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks) by Joseon Court Painting

Irworobongdo (Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks) (c. 1800)

For centuries, no Joseon king sat on his throne without this behind him: a red sun, a white moon, five craggy peaks, twin waterfalls, and a pair of pine trees. The sun is said to stand for the king and the moon for the queen. No early writings explain the five peaks, so experts are still debating what they mean. Less a landscape than a machine for making kingship cosmic.