(b Changhung, South Cholla Province, 1495). Korean painter of the early Choson period. He passed the civil service examination in 1519 and served as Gentleman in Assistance. He was famous for his high moral character and elegant writing style. Unlike most literati painters, who favoured landscapes or the Four Gentlemen (i.e. prunus, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum), Ko was well known for his tiger paintings. Two works bearing his signature and seal are extant. Fierce Tiger (ink and colour on paper, 1103*552 mm; Pak Chong-hwa priv. col.) shows a large tiger with raised tail poised under a pine tree (see Yu, pl. 40). Large Tiger with White Forehead (ink on paper, 235*215 mm; Seoul, Cent. Stud. Kor. A., Kansong A. Mus.) depicts a tiger with unusually large eyes standing on a boulder (see Kansong munhwa, xvi (1979), pl. 27). While the latter is sketchy, only the tiger being shown in somewhat greater detail, the former is a technically accomplished painting executed in an impressionistic but realistic manner similar to that found in the famous tiger painting by the 18th-century artist, Kim Hong-do, but it is in very poor condition. In the absence of further evidence of Ko Un's work, it is extremely difficult to judge the authenticity of either of the paintings. Tiger paintings (especially of tigers in combination with pine trees) from before the 18th century are rare. Those of the 16th century or earlier are especially rare, making it even more difficult to assess the style of tiger paintings from the early Choson period. The two tiger paintings attributed to Ko Un do not share the general stylistic characteristics of other animal paintings of the 16th century

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