4. Yi Sun-shin at a Moonlit Night in Hansan Island                                                  back to the image

   “At a moonlit night on Hansan Isle

I sat alone in the watch tower

with a great sword worn on my side

I fall deep in thought with care

A melody of a flute from a distance rends my heart ...”.

  This painting is the illustration of the war poem that Admiral Yi Sun-shin himself composed during the battle of Hansan island.

The sobriety of an unusual inner and spiritual strength emanating from the Admiral enhances his grave and monumental nature.

The meditative and brooding mood of his gesture is illustrated attentively in the compositional structure to conjure an enigmatic aura. 

The strong illumination on the sill of watch tower parapet enhances his solitude and contemplative atmosphere of the scene. 

The circular arrangement traceable in what has been conceived as rectangular

has been taken carefully to prevent the eye from escaping out of picture.

The diagonal line of watch tower parapet with the horizontal line in the distance bisects the vertical elements acting as an anchor to keep the whole composition for the necessary balance.

The small ship in the distant horizontal creates the perspective of the painting and acts as a balancing agent for the foreground mass.

The principle of the steelyard, a small weight balancing a large weight, is seen in this composition.The column behind the figure acts as a fulcrum for the large mass at the left which is also the subject and the lighter weight of elements at the right is balancing

the composition. (CA7)