Kim Sik (1579–1665) served as a government official but also enjoyed success as a painter. He painted in the style of the versatile artist Kim Che (1524–1593), who was officially Sik's grandfather, but was actually his great-uncle. (Because he had no son, Kim Che adopted his nephew, Kim Sik's father.) Although he painted birds and flowers, the artist is best remembered for his faithful continuation of his grandfather's powerful paintings of oxen. Salient features of the family style include the depiction of the  beasts using ink washes rather than linear brushstrokes, and twisting postures, such as that of this mother cow who tenderly licks her suckling calf. The relatively flat, abstract style of this painting contrasts with his grandfather's more naturalistic paintings.