The picture portrays a cattle drover, who sleeps soundly under a tree after tying up a bull to a willow during a break in the daytime in midsummer.
The Korean painting Cattle Drover is a masterpiece by Kim Tu Ryang, a renowned Korean painter, who lived between 1696 and 1763.
The figure in the picture is fast asleep on a grass field under the shade of a willow with drooping branches, forgetting all his worldly cares. It represents the wearisome work of peasants and the spiritual world and life of diligent and simple people who became strong under such conditions.
The front part of his unlined summer jacket is unfastened, revealing his belly. The belly seems to move up and down on his breathing and his snoring seems to be audible, which amuses viewers.
The large, lifelike bull at the centre of the picture seems to cautiously chew the cud as it rolls its big eyes for fear of awaking its master. This well represents the obedient yet strong disposition and character of the draught animal and the good workmanship of the diligent and devoted drover who takes good care of the bull.
The artist gave a humorous touch to the picture by depicting the massive fat bull first to reflect the contemporary people’s interest in cattle and by devoting a smaller section at one part of the picture to the drover.
The pictorial representation of the painter is featured by the concise composition of the picture with abridgment of the background, the allusion of a luxuriant tree through the portrayal of a few branches and the gentle harmony of the whole picture along with the delicate delineation of the bull, which gives a feeling of intimacy.
Kim Tu Ryang came close to the life of peasants to select the object of delineation there and gave a true-to-life portrayal to it, thereby contributing to expanding the sphere of themes of the pictorial art and developing realistic painting.
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