The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

A large hanging scroll painting dominated by shades of grey of a view of tall, snow-covered mountains. In the foreground, a small depiction of a person sits in a house surrounded by trees. In the upper left are two lines of black Korean text and a red stamp.

Snowscape with Figures

1584

Kim Si

(Korean, 1524–1593)
Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
hanging scroll; ink on silk
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.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1987.187
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Having retreated to the snow-covered mountains, a scholar sits in his studio surrounded by trees. An empty wooden bridge in the distance appears to be longing for friends from afar. Such iconography often evokes the idea of an idealized recluse focusing on scholarly pursuits.

Description

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.
  • ?–1987
    (Shagoro Yabumoto, Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1987–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 1987.” Archives of Asian Art 41 (1988): 95–110. Mentioned: p. 98, fig. 12; Reproduced: p. 99, fig. 12 www.jstor.org
    Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (February 1988): 30–71. Reproduced: p. 54; Mentioned: p. 70, no. 189 www.jstor.org
    Hoam Misulgwan, Chungang Ilbosa, and Han'guk Pangsong Kongsa. Chosŏn chŏn'gi kukpojŏn: widaehan munhwa yusan ŭl ch'ajasŏ (2) : 1996.12.14--1997.2.11 [朝鮮前期國寳展 : 위대한문화유산을찾아서(2) : 1996.12.14--1997.2.11 = The Treasure Exhibition of the Former Era of Choson Dynasty - Looking for Great cultural Legacy II]. Sŏul T'ŭkpyŏlsi: Samsŏng Munhwa Chaedan, 1996. Reproduced: fig. 36, 37, pp. 66–67
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Michael R. Cunningham. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art; New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Reproduced: p. 241
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華 : 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから = Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: pp. 78–79, no. 49
    Hong, Sun-pyo. "Understanding and Adopting Chinese Painting in 15th-and-16th-century Korean Art Scene [15ㆍ16세기 조선화단의 중국화 인식과 수용태도]. Misulsa nondan (2008): 49–73. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Jungmann, Burlind. Pathways to Korean Culture: Paintings of the Joseon Period (1392–1910). Londres, Reaktion Books Ltd., 2014.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 252–253
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "Cross-cultural Dialogues and Misattributions in Early Joseon Period Landscape Paintings." Arts of Asia 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018): 78-84. Reproduced: p. 80, fig. 3
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "The Past and Present of the Korean Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 22-37. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 31–32, fig. 25
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 172–175, no. 109
    Chang, Chin-Sung. "The Significance of 16th-Century Korean Landscape Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 296-303. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 296–303, pl. 109
    편집 양 수미 [and three others], 국립 중앙 박물관 (Korea), p’yŏnjip Yang Su-mi [and three others], and Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan (Korea). 화조미감 = 花鳥美感 = the Sense of Beauty within Bird-and-Flower Paintings. Edited by 양 수미 and Su-mi Yang. Sŏul T’ŭkpyŏlsi: 국립 중앙 박물관, 2025. Reproduced: p. 237, no. 168; Mentioned: p. 510
  • Art of the Early Joseon. National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea (Republic of) (organizer) (June 9-August 31, 2025).
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    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    The Treasure Exhibition of the Former Era of Choson Dynasty - Looking for Great Cultural Legacy II. Ho-am Art Museum, Seoul, Korea (December 13, 1996-February 11, 1997).
    The Treasure Exhibition of the Former Era of Choson Dynasty - Looking for Great cultural Legacy II. Ho-Am Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea. (December 13, 1996-February 11, 1997).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Snowscape with Figures|url=false|author=Kim Si|year=1584|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.187