Lee, DoYoung(pen name: Gwanje, 1894-1934) studied painting under An, Choongsik(1861-1919) and Cho, Seokjin(1853-1920). He had an interest in the art format of the modern period, and drew illustrations and caricatures in publications. He published an art textbook, Dohwaimbon(圖畵臨本), in 1908, and created illustrations for Daehanminbo, Korean newspaper, in 1909.
Lee’s works can be separated into the early and late phase, based on 1920. In the early phase, he followed the artistic style of his teachers, An and Cho. He, however, gradually adopted the new style of art, which is introduced from Europe and Japan, and sought to change the traditional painting style.
This painting is Lee’s late work. As gimyeongjeoljihwa(器皿折枝畵), a Korean genre of still life featuring exquisite objects, the work depicts plates, books, flowers, fantastic stone, and fruits. Adopting Western technique, Lee painted the traditional theme in the style of Western still life. He arranged various objects in a horizontal composition, and expressed perspective by differentiating their sizes.