[National Treasure] Valuable Joseon-era literati painting of a winter scene

Name: Sehando (Winter Scene) by Kim Jeong-hui

Period: Joseon

Location: Yongsan District, central Seoul

Status: National Treasure No. 180

Kim Jeong-hui (Pen-name: Wandang, Chusa) (1786-1856), as a follower of Park Je-ga, who was an eminent literati painter as well as a social reformist who advocated the study of practical science from Qing of China, researched epigraphy under the influence of bibliographical study of Chinese classics.

As a famous literati painter himself, Kim Jeong-hui created his own style of calligraphy called chusache. This picture was drawn while he was living in exile in Jeju.

In the corner of the picture, there is a description in his own writing revealing that this is a gift in return for the valuable books sent by his follower Yi Sang-jeok who was staying in Beijing. The two evergreen trees in the picture symbolize their strong tie as a teacher and a student.

This picture depicts one snow-covered cottage with the pine tree on the left and the cone pine tree on the right.

The remaining space is left empty with the intention of emphasizing the virtue of living simply and temperately.

Though his technique of brushwork is rather rough and dry, he depicted the scene of the snowy winter as clear and serene.

Opposed to the trend of showy artifices at the time, Kim Jeong-hui remained faithful to his principles by emphasizing the importance of virtue of extreme temperance.