Bamboo

Because bamboo is an evergreen, flourishing even in winter, it symbolizes steadfastness and an unbreakable spirit. Therefore, it has been an especially favored subject for Korean scholar-painters, who often painted bamboo and orchids during personal and national crises. Although bamboo paintings with no background became more popular in later times-owing to the influence of the famous bamboo painter Yi Jeong (1541-1622)-painters such as Sin Jam (1491-1554), Yi Gyeong-yun (1545-1611), and Yi Jing (1581-1645) often included water in the foreground of their works.

Yun In-ham's composition is well balanced. His brush strokes are strong and confident, and he achieved a graceful contrast of light and dark. His treatment of the full moon, which is partially hidden by a branch, is effective in creating a contemplative mood.

A scholar-painter, Yun held an important government position during the second invasion of Korea by Japanese forces in 1597. He signed this work with his pen name, Jukjae, meaning "bamboo studio," a reference to his fame as a painter of bamboo.