# Snowscape with Figures

- By: Kim Si (Korean, 1524–1593)
- Date: 1584
- Medium: hanging scroll; ink on silk
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting only: 53 x 67.3 cm (20 7/8 x 26 1/2 in.); Overall: 148.6 x 90.2 cm (58 1/2 x 35 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
- Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.187)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.187/1987.187_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This hanging scroll is a rare surviving example of early Joseon period painting. The painter Kim Si (1481–1537) was a member of the aristocracy, or high-ranking men. However, after his father, Kim Anro (1481–1537) fell out of power, Kim Si retreated himself and spent his life as a reclusive artist.

In such a context, this image of a solitary scholar in his studio surrounded by trees and snow-covered mountains does not simply render an idealized life of a recluse focusing on scholarly pursuits; rather, it is the painter’s mindscape, indicating that the glory of his family has become a forgotten part of his past.