Namji girohoedo (Gathering of Elders by Namji Pond) by Yi Gi-ryong

Namji girohoedo (Gathering of Elders by Namji Pond) by Yi Gi-ryong depicts a gathering of members of the Giroso (Office of Elders), senior officials aged seventy and above, who came together to enjoy refined pursuits and foster fellowship; it was painted by Yi Gi-ryong, a court painter of the Dohwaseo (Royal Bureau of Painting) in the mid-Joseon period. Painted in colour on silk measuring 50 cm in width and 60.5 cm in height, it shows a gathering held at Namji Pond outside Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul. The title 'Namji girohoedo' is inscribed at the top of the painting, while the sides and lower section record the official positions, names and clan seats of those present, along with the nature of the gathering. It portrays a gyehoe (a commemorative gathering of officials) of twelve members of the Giroso, in a well-balanced composition centred on a pond with blooming lotus flowers, flanked by a pair of willow trees in the foreground. Such girohoedo are a type of gyehoedo, a genre depicting scholarly gatherings; whereas in early Joseon examples the scholars at the gathering were shown small, with the landscape background dominating the composition, in this painting the gathering scene itself is emphasised and the landscape description reduced — a feature characteristic of mid-Joseon gyehoedo.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwanak-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물