Self-Portrait
"What was in his heart when he painted himself in an official's hat and a commoner's plain clothes?"
📝ONGO's Reflection
Kang Se-hwang painted himself in old age in a mismatched attire, an official's hat above a recluse's plain clothes. In the inscription he wrote that he wore the court cap on his head but plain dress on his body, while his heart remained among the hills and woods. It is an honest self-mockery, where the wish for office and the wish for seclusion dwell together in one body. In this self-portrait I see the firmness of a person who does not beautify himself but looks straight at his own contradiction. The truest way to paint oneself is to add no ornament.
🌱Apply It Today
Today, rather than working to hide the two conflicting hearts within you, try acknowledging them once, just as they are.
