Artist | Jeong Seon |
---|---|
Year | 1751 |
Type | Ink on paper |
Dimensions | 79.2 cm × 138.2 cm (31.2 in × 54.4 in) |
Location | Hoam Art Museum |
Inwangjesaekdo ("Clearing After Rain in Mt. Inwangsan" or "After Rain at Mt. Inwang") is a landscape painting by the famous Jeong Seon who painted it during the reign of Joseon Dynasty King Yeongjo in 1751. It is the 216th National Treasure of Korea and was designated by the South Korean government on August 6, 1984. The painting is currently held and managed by the Ho-Am Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province and is owned by Yi Geonhui.
Mt. Inwangsan is a peak near Seoul and is where Jeong Seon lived during the later years of his life. It is 138.2 centimeters in width and 79.2 centimeters in height and painted on one roll. This scene depicts the mountain after a rain on a summer day when the fog began to thicken in the valley below. The depiction of the mountain is lifelike. The artist used heavy and repetitive top-down brush strokes with India ink to depict the mountain and rocks wet with rain. This kind of brush stroke and the thick layering effect of the ink also emphasizes the immensity and heaviness of the mountain. The artist uses black ink to depict the ridges and trees which look like unraveling threads. In stark contrast with the peaks of the mountains, the fog in the valley is white.
Jeong Seon was famous for ignoring the latest trends in Chinese styles and developing unique themes based on Korean landscapes. Of his 400 works, this painting is acknowledged to be the artist's greatest masterpiece. It was painted when he was 76 years old.