Gang Hui-an’s Scholar Gazing at the Water

Also called: Gosa gwansudo

Gang Hui-an’s painting of a scholar resting on a rock gazing at the water — the ideal of the literatus who forgets worldly affairs and cultivates himself in nature.

Gang Hui-an (1417–1464) was an official famed for poetry, calligraphy and painting. Beneath a sheer cliff a scholar lies on a rock, chin on his folded arms, idly watching the stream. The large figure, sketchy background and rough brushwork show the influence of the Ming Zhe school.

Painted by a scholar rather than a court painter, it expresses the literati ideal of a quiet mind in nature. Small as it is, it is counted among the masterpieces of early Joseon figure painting. It is in the National Museum of Korea.