(b 1621; d after 1671). Korean painter of the Choson period (1392–1910). He is best known for his Son (Chin. Chan.; Jap. Zen) Buddhist figure painting and was by profession a court painter (hwawon), as were his father Han Son-guk (b 1602) and his son-in-law Yi Myong-uk. Han Si-gak is also said to have been a teacher at the Bureau of Painting (Tohwaso). In 1655 he travelled with an embassy to Japan as an official painter. The Japanese mid-19th-century Koga biko (‘Handbook of classical painting’), in which he is referred to erroneously as Kim Solt’an, records that during his stay he painted two bamboo pictures; according to the third envoy of the same embassy (see Hong Son-p’yo) he made sketches of Japanese landscapes (untraced). In Korea he is credited with a portrait of the Second Counsellor of State, Song Si-yol (1607–89). The last known point of reference for the painter’s life is his contribution to a painting (untraced) documenting the wedding ceremony in 1671 of King Sukchong (reg 1674–1720). Typical of Han’s work as a court painter is a scroll (ink and colours on silk, 6.741*0.579 m; Seoul, N. Mus.) showing various civil and military examinations held in the northern province of Hamyong. Competing horses and riders and observers of the events are all depicted with great exactness and liveliness. The surrounding landscape is painted in the Blue-and-green style (Chin. qinglü; see CHINA, §V, 3(iv)(a)), with stylistic elements of the early 16th century such as the use of short, quick strokes making a vivid rendering of the structure of the mountain. Entirely different from these illustrations, which were produced within the strict bounds of conservative models and intended to serve as historical documents, were Han’s paintings of the Chinese monk Budai (e.g. hanging scroll, ink on paper, 1.18*0.29 m; Seoul, Cent. Stud. Kor. A., Kansong A. Mus.; Kansong Munhwa xviii (1980), pl. 9), some of which are in Korea, others in Japan. The preference for Son Buddhist themes relates Han Si-gak’s work closely to that of KIM MYONG-GUK, who also visited Japan in the 17th century. In contrast to the latter’s forceful, deep black ink brushstrokes Han employs much softer strokes and lighter ink tones. The subjects and style of his pictures seem to indicate some influence from Japanese Zen Buddhist painting.