Giyeonghoedo (Gathering of Elders)

Giyeonghoe, also called Girohoe, refers to a gathering of senior scholar-officials aged 70 or older who held the rank of second grade or higher. Giyeonghoedo is a painting made to commemorate such a gathering after it was held. Giyeonghoe, a social gathering held for friendship among its members, was originally held mainly in the mountains or by riversides, but from the 16th century onwards the venue moved indoors. This painting commemorates a Giyeonghoe gathering attended by senior officials of the state during the mid-Joseon period. At the top of the painting the title "Giyeonghoedo" is written; the centre depicts a banquet scene held in the main hall (daecheong) of a building; and at the bottom are recorded, in seating order, the names, courtesy names, pen names, clan seats, ranks and offices of the participants, along with poems and other writings. According to this record, seven people attended the gathering: Hong Seong, No Su-sin, Jeong Yu-gil, Won Hon, Jeong Jong-yeong, Bak Dae-rip and Im Yeol. The figures of the participants seated in the main hall are depicted in detail, and the varied gestures and postures of subsidiary figures such as musicians, maidservants and attendants are rendered realistically, providing rich information on the customs, utensils and costume of the time. The painting shows in detail not only the formal, principal proceedings of the Giyeonghoe but also the unrestrained behaviour of the surrounding servants, unrelated to the banquet itself, revealing the genre-painting elements found in works of this kind. This work is the largest of all known Giyeonghoedo paintings, and its outstanding use of colour and brushwork suggest it was painted by a court painter of the highest calibre in the 16th century, giving it great value in the history of art.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물