The painting in SungMo’s room is the “Allegory of Prudence” by Titan. It’s hanging in the National Gallery of London.
The three male heads represent three ages of man: old age, adulthood and youth. In the upper part of the painting there’s an inscription which explains the painting. “EX PRAETERITO PRAESENS PRUDENTER AGIT, NI FUTURUM ACTIONE DETURPET” or “From the (experience of the) past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoil future action”.
Here’s the best explanation that I found about the symbolism of the beasts.
…the motto further comments on the corresponding three animal heads – wolf, lion, and dog. This tricephalous creature, in association with an encircling serpent, originated as an attribute of the Egyptian god Serapis and became an accepted symbol of time:
the lion’s head, according to the fifth-century writer Macrobius, “denotes the present, the condition of which, between the past and the future, is strong and fervent by virtue of present action;
the past is designated by the wolf’s head because the memory of things that belong to the past is devoured and carried away;
and the image of the dog, trying to please, signifies the outcome of the future, of which hope, though uncertain, always gives us a pleasing picture.”
source: https://www.titian.org/an-allegory-of-prudence.jsp
If I were to interpret the significance of this painting to our story and, connect it specifically to SungMo, I’d say that it serves as a cautionary reminder for Sungmo to exercise prudence and behave with circumspection. He has to think of his younger brother Lee Ahn who looks up to him and idolizes him.
We see how SungMo likes to say, “I didn’t think this through” (remember Ep 4 at the housewarming dinner?) and he doesn’t want to rush Lee Ahn’s psychometric powers. He’s been acting prudently just as the painting exhorts him to.
Moreover, although SungMo’s memories of his horrendous experience will haunt him forever (alluded to by the old man in the painting), he tries to ensure that neither Ahn nor Jaein (represented by the youth in the painting) will suffer from his past.
It’s funny that Lee Ahn owns the dog because he’s the youth in the painting.
I’ll wait for both episodes to be fully subbed before really watching them; I skimmed through Episode 5 last night but I only ended up muddling through it.
Thanks for that PM. Makes sense. His relationship with Ahn is symbiotic. He (SM) cares for him like a Brother (Ahn wanted a sibling in exchange for the dog afterwhich his Mother hurriedly acquiesced to his earlier demand for a real puppy) and Ahn acts as his conscience to prevent him (SM) from becoming the man(Monster) that his Father was.
That’s a good word to describe them: symbiotic.
I haven’t watched the episodes yet. Waiting for the subs to reach at least 90% before I start.
Is it his father then? Not another male figure, like uncle or stepfather, in his life? Ugh!
Yeah I think it’s the Father? Could be Uncle or StepFather. I did some research and there’s one actor which is in the cast that is playing a character that has the same surname Kang… so I just assumed he was – unless he was an older brother like I surmised before. Thanks for enlightening me about the painting and the significance of 3s in art.
SM has no/low EQ (emotional intelligence) so he needs a deterrent like LA to prevent him from going ‘bad’. I guess that sort of explains why he seems so dense when it comes to JiSoo’s advances. Sociopaths and Psychopaths are often lacking in EQ. They cannot empathise with victims or project that their victims feel pain or suffering from their actions.
Yes, the stalker can be anybody right now. Father, uncle, stepfather, mother’s lover, etc. He just has to be obsessively attached to Sungmo’s mother.
For 13 years, he’d been following Sungmo.
But who was that unknown girl in the stalker’s vision? And why was she there? I thought she could have been the younger Jisoo because they look similar but I’m lousy with faces.
lol. He WAS dense with Jisoo’s attempts at flirting. But he’s always been sensitive when Jisoo wants to investigate further but her father holds her back. He sides with her or subtly covers for her so her father doesn’t get annoyed.
I can see why the other people thought that HE’s “sweet” with her. 🙂