High River and Surging Waves

Yi In-sang, Joseon Period 18th Century (1710~1760)

Yi In-sang (李麟祥, 1710–1760) was a literati painter of the late Chosŏn period, of the Chŏnju Yi lineage, whose courtesy name was Wŏllyŏng (元靈) and whose sobriquet was Nŭngho Gwan (凌壺觀) or Posan-ja (寶山子). He was born into a distinguished Noron family whose forefather in the fourth ascending generation had served as Chief State Councillor; however, because his great-grandfather had been born of a secondary wife, he was subject to hereditary status restrictions that barred him from sitting the civil examinations. Entering government service through the protected appointment system, he was appointed magistrate of Ŭmjuk County in 1750. After resigning the post in 1752, he withdrew into reclusion and devoted the remainder of his life to art. He was celebrated as a master of the three accomplishments — poetry, calligraphy, and painting — and was equally distinguished in seal-script calligraphy and seal carving. His pictorial manner is characterized by clean, incisive brushwork, luminous and unencumbered ink handling, washes of crystalline transparency, and compositions and subject matter imbued with a spare and refined elegance (ach'i); he is considered the most supremely cultivated painter of the late Chosŏn period. His literary collection, the Nŭngho chip (凌壺集), survives in two volumes.

This painting depicts a river surging in waves at the foot of a sheer cliff, with a dense forest spreading across the opposite bank. Despite the fullness of the composition, it conveys an impression of effortless purity and understatement. In the incisive yet weightless and rhythmically alive quality of the brushwork, the limpid clarity of the ink technique, the delicate and spirited rendering of the water's surface, and the varied treatment of foliage, one senses the refined attainment of a literati painter for whom painting was a cultivated avocation rather than a professional pursuit. The complete absence of any human presence within the landscape seems moreover to evoke the tranquil, secluded natural scenery beloved of one who has chosen retirement from the world. Landscape paintings of this particular atmosphere and technique were produced in considerable number during the period of Yi In-sang's reclusion from middle age onward.

The work bears an inscribed couplet reading: "The high river, half hidden, battles thunder and dew; ancient trees and emerald vines encompass sun and moon alike (高江隱映雷露鬪 古木蒼藤日月皆)," followed by the artist's signature Wŏllyŏng (元靈) and an unreadable vermilion square seal.