Portrait of Jo Yeong-bok

These are two portraits of Jo Yeong-bok (1672–1728), a civil official of the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon; one shows him wearing a white dopo (an everyday robe), and the other shows him in official court dress. Jo Yeong-bok passed the state examination in 1705, the thirty-first year of King Sukjong, and went on to hold various government posts. The portrait showing him in a dopo was painted by his younger brother Jo Yeong-seok (1686–1761); it measures 125 cm in height and 76 cm in width and depicts him seated, full-length. He is shown facing to the right, and unusually for a Joseon-period portrait, both hands are visible. This portrait vividly and realistically conveys the dignified bearing of a Confucian scholar-official, making it a work of great value. The other portrait shows him in official court dress, seated in a chair and facing to the right. Measuring 154 cm in height and 79 cm in width, it was painted by Jin Jae-hae, a renowned painter of the time; it is notable for its fine, meticulous depiction and well reflects the style of meritorious-subject portraits of the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century. The portrait in the dopo was painted in 1724, the fourth year of King Gyeongjong, and the portrait in official court dress was painted the following year, 1725, the first year of King Yeongjo. As two portraits of the same person made around the same time, they offer a valuable basis for comparing the character and style of the two paintings.

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Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물