Among the anecdotes of Sin Saimdang who was a famous paintress and poetress of Korea, there is a story told of her skill in drawing grapes.

   One day, visiting at a house of a great ceremony, Sin Saimdang witnessed a lady puzzled about what to do by the stains on the skirt that she wore borrowed. Sin spread the stained skirt to draw grapes with a paintbrush.

   No sooner had she drawn a lovely bunch of grapes, vigorous vine stretches, and dewy leaves, then the stains vanished behind the painting like a magic, changing the stained skirt into a splendid one in a minute.

   Its price went up several times than its first cost, so the lady was able to buy a new skirt for the owner and have lots of money left.

   This relates the warm humanity and great generosity of, as well as the talents of Sin Saimdang.

   The Korean painting "Grapes" is a masterpiece that represents such personalities.

   Used feminine brushwork to depict a part of a vine with plump grapes in bright ink color, it is one of the great works that vividly show the artist's strict observation and remarkable pictorial expression.