Portrait of King Yeongjo

This is a portrait of King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776) of the Joseon dynasty. In response to severe factional strife, King Yeongjo carried out the policy of impartiality (tangpyeongchaek), appointing talented officials without regard to faction to stabilise society, and, being himself devoted to learning, brought about a flourishing of literature and the arts. The painting depicts the king at the age of fifty-one and was painted in colour on silk measuring 68 cm in width and 110 cm in height. He is shown facing to the right, wearing on his head the ikseongwan, the cap worn by kings, and a red robe embroidered with dragons on both shoulders and the chest. His face has a reddish tinge, the eyes are raised at the corners, and the high bridge of the nose, its edges, and the corners of the mouth are rendered with the straight, angular lines of a carving. The belt at his chest is likewise drawn upward, and the outline of the robe is not separately delineated, features typical of late Joseon portrait style. This portrait was painted in 1900 by leading portrait painters of the day, who copied an original painted in 1744, the twentieth year of King Yeongjo's reign, by Jang Gyeong-ju and Kim Du-ryang. Although the original was destroyed by fire during the Korean War, this faithful copy is a notable work among the surviving royal portraits.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물