La Nuit Blanche

미인도 (Miindo, or “Portrait of a Beauty”), circa late 17th century
Painter: Hyewon, a.k.a. Shin, Yun-Bok

My favorite painter in the whole world is Hyewon, of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, born in the mid 17th century.  The above is his most famous painting, of a mysterious woman purported to be the legendary kisaeng-poetess Hwang, Jin-Yi, also known as “Myeongwol” (“bright moon”).

Right now, a semi-fictional-biographical film is being made about the painter and his work, and I am really excited. So I’ve been scouring youtube for a trailer of the film, and lo and behold — the music score used for the teaser is a tango. :-D

An interesting version, played with an ajaeng, a traditional Korean 7-stringed zither played with a long thin wooden stick.  You can see some of Hyewon’s paintings in the above video.

Here is another trailer of the film I found:

And yes.  Those fabulous wigs were really worn two hundred years ago in Korea!

(I think I was born in the wrong century).