Harvard Art Museums

Orchid and Rock

Kim Ŭng-wŏn (also spelled Gim Eung'won; also known as So-ho and Ch'ŏn-ram)

Date

late 19th-early 20th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on silk satin; with signature of the artist reading "So-ho Ke-sa Kim Ŭng-wŏn chak"; with four seals of the artist

Culture

Korean

Department

Department of Asian Art

Institution

Harvard Art Museums

Painted in ink on silk satin, this small hanging scroll depicts a clump of orchids, probably cymbidiums, growing on a rock. The representational elements are positioned vertically along the painting's right edge (viewer's right), with the pointy, diagonally oriented rock projecting from the lower right corner into the center of the composition and with the orchid clump perched atop the rock. Framed on either side by a calligraphically rendered orchid leaf, the artist's poetic inscription occupies a place of honor at the top of the composition. The artist's signature, which is written vertically and reads from the top down, appears along the painting's left edge. One seal of the artist appears at the beginning of the inscription; two more follow his signature; and an additional one enlivens the lower right corner.

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