Painter of the Wind
Translated by Stella Kim
About
In late eighteenth-century Korea, during the reign of King Jeongjo, two painters — the refined Shin Yun-bok and the earthy Kim Hong-do — represent radically different visions of what art should be and whom it should serve. Their rivalry, friendship, and shared devotion to painting drive a novel that is simultaneously a historical epic, an art-world thriller, and a meditation on beauty's power to subvert authority. Jung-Myung Lee's million-copy bestseller, adapted into an award-winning Korean television series, delights readers with thirty-four color reproductions of the actual paintings at the story's heart. The novel brings these works to life by imagining the passions, scandals, and political dangers that surrounded their creation. A novel about the artists behind the masterpieces — and the discovery that in a rigid society, painting freely is the most dangerous act of rebellion.
