Author Description

Although Kim Hong-do is a well known painter of the Joseon era, many people only know his genre paintings. Contrary to general opinion, Kim mastered all types of painting as well as calligraphy, Chinese and Korean poetry, and music. This book contains five years’ worth of research material, introduces fifty new items, and retranslates existing material. As a result we are able to shed new light on Kim Hong-do, a man who dearly loved his friends and drinking; who was honest, warm-hearted and devoted to his family; and a man all too vulnerable in the face of illness and death. This book paints a portrait of one of Korea’s greatest artists, Kim Hong-do.