Cheongpung Valley by Jeong Seon

This painting, Cheongpung Valley (Cheongpunggyedo), created by Jeong Seon, depicts the house of Kim Sang-yong, a renowned scholar-official of the mid-Joseon period, located in Cheongpung Valley, Baegaksan Mountain, Seoul.

The work is widely regarded as a representative masterpiece of the Jingyeong style of landscape painting due to its well-balanced composition, strong aesthetic sensibility, effective use of ink and brush strokes to capture the emblematic details of the landscapes, brushstrokes full of energy and dynamism, and the use of light multi-color ink wash to lend vividness to the landscape.

Jeong Seon left behind several paintings of the same valley under the same title, which are currently stored at the Korea University Museum, the National Museum of Korea, and various other institutions. Among them, this painting is generally regarded as the finest example of Jeong Seon’s art, particularly with regard to his technique of applying multiple layers of ink and linear strokes.