Rock and Chrysanthemum

Jeon Gi, Joseon Period 19th Century (1825~1854)

Chŏn Ki, whose sobriquet was Koram (古藍), was a painter and calligrapher of chungin status who was closely associated with Cho Hŭi-ryong (趙熙龍), Yu Chae-so (劉在昭), and O Kyŏng-sŏk (呉慶錫). He died at the tragically young age of thirty, yet the works he left behind — among them Mountains and Streams in Lush Verdure (溪山包茂圖), Plum Blossoms and a Scholar's Studio (梅花書屋圖), and various works of calligraphy — leave no doubt that he possessed exceptional native gifts in both painting and the written arts.

This Rock and Chrysanthemum (石菊圖) renders, with consummate economy of brush and ink, two sprays of autumn chrysanthemum blooming at a slight angle beside a moss-covered old rock — a composition of austere clarity. The inscription reads: "Painted and respectfully presented to Master Sinmukjae for his discerning appreciation: an old rock and autumn blossoms (老石秋花 寫奉愼默齋先生正鑑)." The sobriquet Sinmukjae — meaning "a place of silent restraint and purification" — is entirely consonant with the mood of quiet, self-contained refinement that the painting itself conveys.