Bamboo

Bamboo, which flourishes even in the harshest winter, is a symbol of steadfastness and an unbreakable spirit. For this reason, bamboo has been a favorite subject of Korean scholar-painters.

Here, Jo Seok-jin creates a composition unusual in Korean bamboo painting, featuring two long stalks of thick bamboo with cropped tops. The thick stalks are interspersed with new shoots and thin leafy stalks. Jo’s use of wet ink and relaxed brush lines are reminiscent of the way his friend An Jung-sik (whose work is shown to your right) handled ink and brush.

Jo is believed to have been the last royal court painter of the Bureau of Painting of the Joseon dynasty. Because he lost his parents when he was young, he grew up studying under his grandfather, Jo Jeong-gyu (b. 1791), who was a court painter known for his landscapes as well as his paintings of fish and shellfish. Like his grandfather, Jo Seok-jin excelled in painting those subjects.