본 논문은 청의 19세기 중후반에 활동한 趙之謙의 화훼화와 영향에 관한 연구이다. 그는 변화를 모색하는 당시 화단 속에서 金石畵風을 구현하여 海上畵派의 시작을 열어 주었으며 후대 화가들이 20세기 전통화단을 개척하는데 기반을 마련하였다. 그러나 그에 대한 기존의 연구는 그가 해상화파에 속하는가 하는 귀속 문제와 금석화풍과 해상화파의 관계에 대한 부분에만 초점이 맞춰져 있었다. 그리하여 본 연구에서는 조지겸의 회화 창작에 근간이 되는 예술사상과 예술 성취에 대해 분석적이고 종합적인 연구를 시도하여 그의 회화사적 의의를 모색하려 하였다. 본 논문은 학문관과 예술사상이 가장 잘 반영된 화훼화에 대하여 살펴보았다. 그의 화훼화는 본인이 스스로 1863년경 화풍을 전환하였다고 기록하였듯이 1863년을 기점으로 두 시기로 구분된다. 1857년부터 1862년까지의 前期에는 전통 화훼화의 화법을 학습하고 당시의 상업적인 경향에 부응하여 대중적이고 화려한 화훼화를 제작하였다. 1861년에도 독창적인 〈異魚圖卷〉과 〈毆中物産圖卷〉을 제작하였는데 이는 그가 이전부터 연구해 온 고증학에 대한 관심과 지방의 독특한 사물을 기록해 내려는 남다른 시각에 희한 것이다. 後期에 들면, 북경에서 맺게 된 새로운 교유관계와 금석학의 학습, 서예와 전각의 연마로 화풍상에 있어 큰 변화를 보인다. 특히, 조지겸은 金石學과 碑學을 바탕으로 古代의 중후한 심미관을 찬미하였으며 書ㆍ畵ㆍ印의 밀접한 관계를 인식하였고 ‘拙’이라는 필묵의 최후의 경지를 추구하였다. 이러한 예술사상을 토대로 전각과 서예의 조형적인 요소를 회화에 적용하는 금석화풍의 화훼화를 구사하였다. 이울러 직접 金石器物을 拓本의 기법으로 화면속에 그려낸 拓本 花卉博古圖도 제작하여 화훼화의 한 장르로 확립하였다. 조지겸의 이러한 성취는 후대 吳昌碩, 任伯年과 같은 해상화파와 북경화단에도 흡수되어 20세기 초 전통화파 형성에 근간이 되었다. 특히 오창석에 선행하여 금석화풍으로 해상화파의 시작을 열어주었다는 점에서 주목된다. 더욱이 그의 영향이 해상화파를 통해 19세기 후반 20세기 초 張承業을 중심으로 한 한국의 화단에도 미친다는 점에서 의의가 크다 할 수 있겠다. 그가 확립했다고 간주되는 탁본 화훼 박고도와 해상화파의 그림들이 조선말기 器折枝圖의 구도, 표현기법, 제재 등에 영향을 주었다는 것을 살펴보았다. 조지겸은 19세기 화단 속에서 대중의 취향에 맞는 상업적인 창작활동을 한 동시에 자신의 학문적 관심에 의해 새로운 미감의 작품도 창작하였다. 이는 변모해 가는 화단의 양상을 잘 반영한다. 아울러 그가 아룬 성취가 후대 중국뿐만 아니라 한국에도 이른다는 것을 통해 그 동안 간과되었던 회화사적 의의를 고찰할 수 있었다.
This study discusses flower paintings by Zhao Zhiqian, a Qing Chinese artist from the mid to late 19<SUP>th</SUP> century. Zhao Zhiqian’s works, drawing inspirations from the aesthetics of jinshixue (the study of ancient metal and stone artifacts), opened a new direction for Chinese painting, at a time when its artistic scenes were thirsty for changes, thereby becoming one of the spiritual fathers of the Shanghai school, and laying the groundwork for traditional painting to survive and remain relevant into the 20<SUP>th</SUP> century. Most prior studies on Zhao Zhiqian have been almost exclusively concerned with the question whether or not he should be considered a member of the Shanghai school, or with the relationship between jinshi style and the Shanghai school of painting insofar he was a connecting link between the two. This study is an attempt at a comprehensive portrayal of Zhao Zhiqian as an artist, examining his artistic philosophy and achievements, to determine his place within the history of Chinese painting. My discussion of Zhao Zhiqian opens with a look at his flower paintings, an area of his work that best reflects his intellectual and artistic temperament. Two periods can be discerned in his flower paintings: before and after 1863 the year that marked a clear stylistic shift for Zhao Zhiqian, as the artist is reported to have acknowledged himself. The initial period between 1857 and 1862, Zhao Zhiqian studied classical techniques of the Chinese flower painting tradition and produced colorful and stylized paintings, geared toward a broad audience and catering to the popular taste of the day. In 1861, however, he produced two very original scrolls, such as Collection of Strange Fish and Collection of Products of Wenzhou. These works, a reflection of his long-standing interest in Kaozhengxue, were more particularly the results of his known passion for and desire to document exotic animals, plants and produce from various regions of China. A noticeable change occurred in his style toward 1863. The influence of artists he befriended in Beijing around this time, and his initiation into ancient epigraphy and further mastery of calligraphy and seal carving appear to have been the contributing factors. During this period, Zhao Zhiqian, immersed in the study of ancient epigraphy and stelae, professed his admiration for the weighty aesthetic of antiquity. He clearly understood the intimate ties existing between calligraphy, painting and seal carving, and worked toward the ultimate stage of calligraphic mastery he described as 'awkward.' This artistic vision is tangible in his flower paintings from this period which also integrated elements of seal carving and calligraphy, to shape a new style infused with the aesthetics of jinshixue. It was also during this period that he created a new genre of flower painting in which flowers and plants are depicted alongside ancient bronze vessels, using techniques inspired from stele rubbing. These new styles and genres developed by Zhao Zhiqian had a seminal influence on Shanghai school painters of the likes of Wu Changshuo and Ren Bonian and the artistic circles of Beijing and became the sources of inspiration for traditional Chinese painting of the early 20<SUP>th</SUP> century. It is important to underline that Zhao Zhiqian pioneered the integration of jinshixue aesthetics into painting, and that his works embodying this style predate those of Wu Changshuo. In that he was the true spiritual founding father of the Shanghai school Also noteworthy is the fact that Zhao Zhiqian’s influence went beyond Chinese borders to Korea. Via works of Shanghai school painters, Jang Seung-eup and other Korean painters of the late 19th to early 20<SUP>th</SUP>-century were exposed to Zhao Zhiqian’s style. Flower and antique objects using stele-rubbing technique, a genre Zhao Zhiqian is widely considered to have fathered, and Shanghai school painters’ works had a decisive influence on Vessels and Flower Paintings, the late-Joseon still-life genre representing flowers, plants and antique vessels, in terms of composition, expressive techniques as well as media. Zhao Zhiqian forged a new aesthetic from his learning in various scholarly fields and produced highly original works, at the same time as paintings with a commercial bent. In this sense, the career of this 19th-century painter may be seen as a portrait of his epoch, a time when major changes overtook the artistic scenes of China. By establishing that Zhao Zhiqian not only influenced succeeding generations of Chinese painters, but also Korean painters, this article attempted to give an artist whose significance and impact have not yet been fully appreciated the place he deserves in the history of Chinese and East Asian painting.