Crane with Autumn Grass

Yang Gihun was a member of the Royal Academy of Painting at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Despite the official nature of his position, however, his style reflects the untrammeled spirt of a literati artist. He is best known for his paintings of birds and plants, which he rendered in a delightfully abbreviated and naive style. Yang's inscription alludes to his dream journey to Jiangnan in China:

In dream [I were] in Jiangnan, [but] wind and rain is cold [here].

(Meng li Jiangnan feng yu han)

夢裏江南風雨寒