Wrestling (Ssireum)

Two wrestlers grapple in the traditional Korean sport of ssireum. Around them, 22 spectators of every age and class: an old man laughing, a boy staring open-mouthed, a woman peering from behind another spectator, a bored child, an itinerant candy-seller. Kim Hong-do painted every face with a different expression and posture. He was the most celebrated genre painter of the Joseon dynasty, working at a moment of confident middle-class culture. The painting is only 27 × 22 cm, ink and light colour on paper. It captures the whole social ecosystem of a village festival. Now at National Museum of Korea, Seoul @nationalmuseumofkorea