Review:// The Painter of the Wind

Painter of the Wind is set during King Jeong Jo's rule, and is centered around the famous painters, Danwon and Hyewon.  Based on the bestselling historical fiction novel by Lee Jung Myung, Hyewon is depicted as a woman in disguise.

In the drama, Hyewon has not yet received her pen name and is known as Shin Yun Bok.  After her family was murdered, she had been taken in by Dohwaseo painter, Shin Han Pyeong who recognized her talent and wanted the prestige it would bring to his family.  Dohwaseo was the royal painting institute and it was common for painting to be a hereditary occupation.

First Impressions:// The Painter of the Wind

The Painter of the Wind drops us right into a story with engaging characters, intrigue, conflict and best of all, chemistry!  The setting is 1777 at the start of King Jeong Jo's rule.  He was known as an innovative king who made many reforms and led Joseon into a renaissance period.  The drama is based on the fictional novel, Painter of the Wind, by Lee Jeong Myeong, which portrayed Hyewon as a woman in disguise.

The artist in me loves the fact that the story revolves around two renowned painters of the Joseon period. Kim Hong Do (pen name, Danwon) painted daily life which gives his work historical as well as aesthetic value. Shin Yoon Bok (pen name, Hyewon) was actually a man who was influenced by Kim Hong Do. However, he developed his own style which went beyond convention, though at the time he was not acclaimed due to the sensuality of his paintings at a point in history which was ruled by a strict Confucian moral code.