An Chung-sik

An Chung-sik, also called Shimjon (Korean: “Heart Field”), (born 1861, Sunhŭng, Korea—died 1919, Seoul), the last gentleman painter of the great Korean Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910).

As a promising young painter, An Chung-sik was sent to China for training by the Korean court. Upon his return he became a master of the popular Southern style, with its emphasis on fingertip technique. He was also a noted calligrapher who mastered all the writing styles. Interested in new trends, especially those from the West, he experimented with ideas of perspective and depth, grafting them to the traditional style. In 1900 he painted a portrait of King Kojong. An Chung-sik’s work furnished the starting point for many younger painters. Toward the end of his life he was the central figure in the establishment (1918) of the Sohwa Hyop-hoe (“Association of Calligraphy and Painting”).